


Unfamiliar

by caedi



Series: Quicker Than The World Can Spin [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Canon Relationships, Canon Rewrite, Fix-It, Gen, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Grief/Mourning, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Season/Series 02, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:08:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25747177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caedi/pseuds/caedi
Summary: A sleep deprived Klaus accidentally stumbles into a difficult discussion with Ben. One that's been haunting them both for sixteen years.This changes a few things for the 1963 apocalypse. Other things stay the same.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Quicker Than The World Can Spin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1912462
Comments: 160
Kudos: 634





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So. There was a lot I didn't like about Ben and Klaus' arc in season 2. I wrote this to remind myself that these selfish assholes are siblings and they love each other. Even when it seems like they hate each other. I just needed them to communicate, like they were _so close_ to doing multiple times, and to give their story a bit more resolution that we currently have in canon.

  
  


  
  


Klaus leans back against the chaise lounge and squints against the morning sun that streams through windows.

It's been a long night. The dinner with dear old dad at the Tiki Bar was almost nostalgic, seeing him just as unimpressed with them in 1963 as he was during their entire childhood. Not to mention being possessed for the second time in less than 24 hours. He shivers, clutching his hot green tea a bit closer, and glares at Ben. Ben innocuously raises an eyebrow. Such a brat.

Then he shared a cab back to the mansion and was accosted by his claustrophobic cult as soon as he walked through the doors. Bless the waters, Prophet! Share your wisdom, Prophet! I too am a fraud, Prophet! Can I get you some tea, Prophet?

That last one had actually been very helpful. But don't the others ever sleep? God, Klaus would love to sleep.

Klaus tries to keep eye contact with Ben but is eventually beaten by a yawn, and when he opens his eyes Ben has moved pillows. He’s smiling pleasantly, in that smug way he always does when he knows he’s got you beat. 

Klaus is very familiar with that look. Ben has perfected it over the past sixteen years as his snarky ghost shadow, but even when he was alive their quiet nerd of a brother had this way of smiling that could cut you. He’d bring it out during training, tutoring or when they would sneak out the fire escape from Five’s window and he’d oh so kindly let Klaus leave before him only to trip him up as they were going down the staircase. 

When Ben gave him that look back when he was alive, Klaus used to sneak up to his room and tear out the last pages of whatever book he was reading. Revenge is a little harder now with him as a ghost, but Klaus has always been great at improvising.

“I hate to disappoint you Benny-boy but you are not getting in this body. No way.”

“Well, you’re going to have to fall asleep eventually,” Ben replies, and actually blows him a kiss. The jackass. Not for the first time, Klaus curses ghost endurance. 

“Oh this is nothing. Once in Rio I spent eight straight days up.”

“Without chemical assistance?”

This is the annoying thing about spending sixteen years in each other's pocket. Ben was there, silently judging him in the background. Ben knows exactly how much chemical assistance was involved in that venture.

“Listen the point is I’m not going to let you win,” Klaus says and before he knows it Ben is even closer and glaring. 

“God, I hate your face," Klaus groans. 

“I hate all of you.”

Klaus kind of wants to retort back to that with ‘Well I hate _more_ of you’ and it's on the tip of his tongue but the clock is tick tick tick ticking and it’s a little bit rhythmic and - 

The next thing Klaus knows the clock is chiming and Ben is lounging right at his face and his green tea has spilt down the front of his favourite shirt, mixing in with the fruit stains Vanya left last night.

“Hey! Ben, Jesus Christ! Will you please - just look. I’m going through a lot right now.”

“You’re always going through a lot!”

“Ben!” Klaus says, drawing out his name is such a whine it almost sounds like two syllables. “The love of my life is going to die, and I can’t stop it. I’ve tried every trick in the time-traveler’s playbook. I told him I loved him. I told him his future.”

“And the only thing you succeeded in doing was freaking him out.”

Look, Ben may have a point there but bringing out his judgey-eyebrows is completely uncalled for when Klaus is feeling like this. Just thinking about Dave already enlisted and shipping off to Vietnam in a week makes Klaus’ gut churn with that old unfamiliar grief he’d pushed far away the moment he’d realised that he was in the 60s again, that he had a chance to _save_ him.

“Oh God, I hate this.” Klaus says, bringing his hands up to his face and trying to push down that feeling. “Not being able to do anything.”

“Klaus. What you’re feeling right now is how I feel every day. All I do is watch you make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over again," Ben says, solemnly staring at him. "Welcome to powerlessness.”

“Oh my God, that must suck.”

As a rule, Klaus tries not to think too hard about anything and it’s worked out pretty well for him so far. He stares back at Ben, at the adult face his brother never actually grew into, and feels his gut churn with that old unfamiliar feeling again.

It was a long, long time ago that he pushed away that feeling for Ben. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Want to make it up to me?” Ben says, looking up at him with a rare genuine smile on his face. Completely smug free, practically a miracle. Klaus reaches forward with his power and touches Ben’s knee. This little shit. He’s a nag and so frustrating but Klaus loves his brother. 

He looks so hopeful that Klaus can feel his will wavering.

Klaus sighs, closing his eyes for a second. He remembers a cold winter day and his siblings falling apart around him. He remembers everyone crying and words being thrown like knives. He remembers staring at that stark white coffin and actually wanting to use his powers for the first time and shaking his hands out and letting power run through them until Ben was standing behind him, barely seventeen and fresh from the grave, saying _I need to get back_ and _Are you sure?_

He remembers thinking if he could just keep his brother with him, maybe things wouldn’t fall apart. 

Klaus tightens his hand on Ben’s knee. He can feel the shape of it, the texture of the dark jeans he was wearing when he died. There’s no warmth. 

“I’m sorry,” Klaus repeats, nonsensically. 

Ben leans forward, smile disappearing and brow furrowing. “Klaus?”

“I trapped you here,” he says quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he even realises what he's said.

Ben pulls back, unsure for a second before he snorts. “What in the 60s?” he says, leaning forward to pinch Klaus in the side right where he knows Klaus is most ticklish. “Pretty sure that’s on Five, dumbass.”

Klaus squirms away from his devil fingers. “Hey, asshole. I’m being serious.”

“Well, stop it!” 

“No!”

“Oh, come on! Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

“I can’t help you, Ben!” Klaus says. 

“Klaus.”

“I can’t bring you back. I can’t give you your life back.” Klaus feels suddenly desperate, reaching forward. “Possessing me isn’t going to fix anything.”

There’s sudden silence and Ben looks away. “I know that.”

“Do you though?”

“Klaus, I just want to talk to her.”

“The moroccan girl with the limp?” Klaus asks. So, sue him. He knows exactly who Ben is talking about but if he can’t tease his brother about the first crush of his life _and_ death then honestly what’s the point in living anymore.

“No!”

“I know, I know.” He flaps his hands in the air. “But what then? You talk to this girl, what next?” 

Ben pauses and sits back. “I don’t know.”

“I know you don’t,” Klaus says. “I’m sorry, though. I’m sorry you can’t see this girl and talk to her and _live_. That must suck.”

“You're being weird,” Ben says. “You've apologised more in the last 10 seconds than you have in the last thirty years.”

“What can I say, it built up. Like a sexy volcano. If that volcano had a lot of repressed trauma.” 

“Klaus,” Ben laughs. "Come on. You know it's not your fault."

“Isn’t it, though?” Klaus says, before he chickens out. “You - you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. You could be living it up in the light.”

He looks at the wallpaper in the room, so he doesn't have to see Ben's face. Of all the time periods Klaus has lived in, the 60s definitely have the best wallpaper. Such an interesting pattern and the gold really catches the light. 

Klaus can hear the cult rising now, voices murmuring in the background as people start their meditation, start eating breakfast, start walking around the grounds talking about modern song lyrics like they're real scriptures.

"I can go anytime, right?" Ben says softly. Klaus cautiously meets his eyes again as Ben reaches forward, but this time his hand passes through Klaus' knee like smoke. Klaus has no idea when he stopped making Ben corporeal. 

Ben pulls his hand back like it hurts and maybe it does. Klaus doesn't know. He's never asked what it feels like for Ben. 

The first time it had happened had been 30 minutes after he'd summoned Ben. Klaus had been giggling about the car as they ran from the garage and automatically, as naturally as breathing, had reached for Ben's arm to pull him up the stairs as they both laughed.

His hand had gone straight through.

Ben had made a wounded sound, like Klaus had punched him instead of reached for his hand, and Klaus had felt guilt start to settle in his stomach like rocks. Rocks that had slowly stacked together, becoming heavier and heavier as the years passed.

For thirteen years after that moment, he and Ben had carefully avoided touching each other at all.

“You know I don’t know that," Klaus finally breathes out shakily into the silence between them. "I don’t know anything about my powers.”

“I know,” Ben says.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ben says. “I knew back then too.” 

“Fuck,” Klaus says, almost laughing as relief flows through him. “You shit.”

“Come on,” Ben says. “I know you! I watched you drug yourself for years before I died to avoid your powers.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Klaus. I’m right where I want to be. I'd rather be a ghost and have the chance to see you and our family than risk being separated forever. That scares me. You guys are all I've ever known.” 

The words settle deep in Klaus' chest and he closes his eyes and breathes out slowly. 

The truth is that Klaus can always feel Ben. His spirit is like a beacon. The only ghost Klaus has ever summoned. For the first time though, the tether connecting them doesn't feel like a noose.

Ben reaches forward and flicks Klaus in the head, and Klaus starts back with a yelp clutching at the sore spot.

“Though it would be nice to be able to talk to them, dickhead,” Ben says 

Klaus waves his hand at him. “Yeah yeah, I know I know,” he says. “I was just pissed at you and... so drunk.” 

Ben pulls out one of his most judgmental looks, as he agrees, “So drunk.”

"You know, before I started figuring out how to control my powers, I hated ghosts."

"I know you did," Ben says, tentatively.

"They were always yelling at me and asking me for things I couldn't give them."

Ben stares, face dropping 

"And God, Ben. The last few years here it's felt like you've been wanting those things too and I - I don't want. I don't want to feel like that about you too."

The silence settles in the air, shocked. Klaus can hear murmuring outside from the cult and the rise and fall of spirits around him and his one specific tether reaching out towards Ben. He sits as still as stone, not even mimicking breathing.

"I don't want that either," Ben whispers. “I didn’t mean to possess you that first time.

“I know, I know.”

"And I shouldn't have done it last night either. Not like that. I'm sorry."

Klaus breathes out slowly. "Thanks." 

“Until that happened yesterday, I’d forgotten what it felt like to - to feel things. As soon as I was inside you it felt like I was on fire. Like. I don't know. Like I had no skin and I could feel every individual particle in the air?" Ben shakes his head. "I don't know. I don't know if that makes sense."

Klaus reaches forward again. "It does."

"As a ghost everything is so muted. I’d just forgotten how removed I was from - from -” Ben’s voice cracks and he breathes out in a way that Klaus knows means he’d be crying if he could.

“Fuck,” Klaus says, and reaches out to Ben. He’s already corporeal but Klaus pushes all of his power, everything he can into him as he pulls him into a hug. “Come here Bumble-Ben.”

Klaus has gotten used to his powers over the last three years in the 1960s. They needed it when they first arrived, and Klaus was trying to keep the attention of their wealthy benefactors. It quickly became as easy as breathing to draw on that pool of energy at his core and redirect it to Ben. Making him corporeal but remaining invisible to everyone else. 

A little more effort and his hands glow blue and he knows Ben is visible in the same way. Lit up by his power. 

This time he pulls Ben onto the chaise lounge with him and draws as much of that energy as he can through to his brother, fueled by the wish for him to be real and to not become another ghost fixated only on the living, on getting back to something Klaus can't give him. 

"It's no excuse. I shouldn't have done that to you," Ben mumbles into the embrace. His voice is rough and when was the last time he and Ben properly hugged? Not a tackle, or slap fight, or touching the knee or the shoulder or head just because they can, but a full-blown hug?

When they were little, Ben had been close with all their siblings. He had this way of keeping the peace, of fixing problems with one kind word. But even amongst that, the two of them had naturally gravitated together. They were both scared of their powers and needed touch to ground them, to feel something that connected them to the real world, separate from their powers. 

Eventually though, they grew older under the severe gaze of Sir Reginald Hargreeves and started going on missions and hugs and held hands had transformed into tackles and rough housing. 

Have they hugged once since arriving in the 1960s? Klaus isn't sure.

"I know, Benerino. It's okay." 

"It's not."

"It will be. I'd rather not do it again but we're okay yeah?"

"We're a mess," Ben says.

"What do you expect? It's us," Klaus laughs and in the morning light it almost looks like Ben's perfectly coiffed hair moves when he breathes out, air pushing over fine black strands. God, Ben is lucky he died having a good hair day. What if Allison had hogged the bathroom and Ben hadn't had time to gel his hair? Klaus could have been haunted by greasy bangs for sixteen years.

"I'll make you corporeal more, Benny," he says softly. "I'll tell the others you're here."

"Thanks," Ben sniffs against him. Great, now Klaus is gonna have ghost snot on his favourite shirt along with the fruit salad Vanya exploded last night and the green tea he spilled earlier. If ghost snot is a thing. Klaus is about 90 per cent sure it isn't.

He might be more used to his powers now, but he still really has no idea how they work. He tightens his hold on his brother, just a bit.

“You remember when you conjured me?" Ben asks into his shirt.

“The day of your funeral,” Klaus says. “That was depressing, it was the week before Christmas and everything. You couldn't have picked a better time?”

“Well I wasn’t there for the funeral, but yeah. And now soon I’ll have been a ghost longer than I was ever alive.”

"Wait really?" Klaus pulls back. "We should have a party.”

"What?"

"Yeah! On the day I conjured you, like a birthday party but cooler." 

"Yeah, alright. You weirdo." Ben says, laughing. 

Klaus gasps into Ben's hair. "Oh my god, does that mean next month is your sweet sixteen?"

"No!" Ben pushes at Klaus' arms, wriggling to escape. Klaus just tightens his hold.

"It is!"

"Time-travel! It's already been sixteen years, dumbass," Ben says, but it's very muffled by the fact that Klaus is currently smothering him against his chest.

"What was that, Ben? I can't hear - "

"Prophet?" 

Suddenly Jill is there, standing in the doorway. Ben looks up and then stills. Klaus wonders what it looks like from her perspective, a grown man with his arms encircled around thin air, legs kicked up slightly to keep his balance against all of Ben's wriggling.

Jill's eyes just widen as she looks straight at them. "Oh. You have a visitor, but I'll tell them to wait until you're finished with your current appointment."

What.

There's a beat of stunned silence and then - 

"Wait you can see me?!" "You can see him?!" They both say at the same time, and she just looks confused before _looking straight at Ben_ and _blushing_. 

"Holy shit," Klaus breathes, and Ben actually laughs. Klaus draws on the well of power he's currently feeding down to Ben and yeah, he's using an awful lot more than he usually does and wow. 

How did he not realise he could make Ben look real?

"I think you're amazing," Ben says to her so quickly it's like one word. Klaus barely restrains himself from pinching his cheeks. The absolute dork. He has a body for two seconds in front of his crush and he confesses like a wide-eyed trembling teen.

Jill doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. Instead she continues blushing, standing in the doorway under the chimes. "You're pretty cute too. In like a dorky way," she says, nervously pushing her glasses up with one finger.

"Oh," Ben exhales. Klaus kicks his legs up in delight, jostling him. They're both as awkward as each other, they deserve each other. He gives them his blessing. He'll keep Ben corporeal for as long as he possibly can if he can continue watching them flirt like bumbling newborn puppies. This is quality entertainment.

"Are you joini-" Jill starts, before she's interrupted by a familiar voice

“I don't have time for this!” Diego says, barging past Jill and into the room. He pauses for a moment, shocked and staring at the floor to ceiling windows and the ornate painting of Klaus over the fireplace before shaking out of it. 

“Klaus! We gotta - Ben?”

“Diego," Ben breathes out, like it's a miracle that their brother is standing in front of them. Klaus supposes it's been an unbearably long time since he's been perceived by one of their other siblings.

Ben slips out of Klaus arms and runs straight to Diego, who still seems to be in shock. Klaus focuses on the tether connecting him to Ben, on making sure he's keeping power levels steady so he doesn't disappear or turn blue. Now that he knows how much power he needs to feed through to Ben, though, it's surprisingly easy.

"I can't believe you're here," Diego says, voice tight with emotion. Diego has his arms circled around Ben like he's precious, before he pulls back to look at him, his entire face slack and stunned. Klaus wishes he had a camera. It's a pretty stupid look for him. Ben just beams back before pulling Diego in tight again, closing his eyes and cherishing every second.

"I'm - I'm going to go," Jill says, awkwardly.

Klaus smiles at her. "Thanks Jill."

By the time he looks up again, Diego has untangled himself from Ben and is right in front him. Klaus leans back against the mountain of pillows on the lounge.

"You asshole," Diego says.

"What, moi?" Klaus says. Behind Diego, Ben pokes his tongue out at him. "Where was your outrage when he possessed me last night!" 

"That's what that was about?" He looks back at Ben. "That's pretty messed up, dude."

"We worked it out," Ben says.

"Yes, yes. You know what they say, 'They're back together like birds of a feather, me me and my family,'" Klaus smiles beatifically, waving an arm about and jostling the pillows.

"What? Who the hell says that?" Diego asks, brows furrowed.

"Wait. Is that 'We are Family'?" Ben comments, shaking his head and starting to laugh. "You need serious help."

"Okay, whatever weird thing you have going on here needs to stop. Like 20 minutes ago. We've got to get back to the alley. Five's found us a way home," Diego says. "You guys ready to go?"

"What, like right now?" "Wait, back to 2019?" They both say over the top of each other, shocked.

"Yeah, right now. Five needs us there in like, 15 minutes." Diego stares at the watch with a sullen look on his face. "This place is like a fortress," he mutters petulantly.

"Holy shit," Ben says, as Klaus stands up and quickly heads over to the bookcase to grab some extra hidden booze and a few valuables to shove in his pocket. "What about the cult?"

Klaus flaps his hand. "They'll be fine. We'll leave Keechie in charge or something. He's passionate enough."

"I guess," Ben trails off. 

"Come on, come on!" Diego yells from the door, and they both finally move.

As they stumble out the front door they manage to grab Keechie and Klaus is honestly so tired he has no idea what he says to him. Something about blessing the pool waters himself from now on and some song lyric to keep them going. If he has 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley stuck in his head for most of the run to the alley, well surely that's just a coincidence.

  
  


* * *

  
  


They've been running for about 10 minutes when Diego suddenly slaps Klaus' arm multiple times.

"Ow!" Klaus complains, stumbling into a covered shop doorway titled "Stewart Bakery & Goods". He leans against the display windows, pretty frosted cakes piled high. "What the hell Diego?"

Diego continues slapping, panting hard and staring down the street back the way they came. Klaus makes a face and slaps him back.

"We lost Ben!" Diego finally says.

"What?"

"Why'd you guys stop?" Ben says, popping into existence right next to Klaus. 

Klaus starts back with a slight screech, elbow banging against the display window. "Jee-hee-sus."

"Oh, these look nice," Ben says, getting distracted by the triple tiered cake.

"He's not here!" Diego says over the top of him.

"Christ almighty. You want to run Ben?" Klaus asks, and draws on his power enough so Diego can see Ben's ghostly blue form as he replies -

"Nah, I'm good. Are you getting cupcakes?" 

Diego startles slightly, before blinking and smiling as he sees Ben glowing and staring at frosting. The business owner - must be the lovely Mrs. Stewart - is also staring at them wide eyed from behind the till, her mouth dropped open. She slowly raises a wrinkled shaky hand to point at the ghost staring at her cakes.

Klaus smiles and waves back.

"What?" Diego says. "We've gotta run, we're on a time limit!" 

Klaus pats Diego on the back, "Now's really not the time for a lesson in ghost physics, Dee."

"You can't escape me," Ben says, with a smug smile that crinkles his eyes.

"My little stalker," Klaus simpers in reply, and Ben throws him the finger. In the store, Mrs. Stewart seems to be putting a phone up to her ear, paler than the ghost currently in front of them. Klaus claps his hands together. "Okay, time to go!" 

Another two blocks down the street, avoiding new moms pushing fancy prams and businessmen heading off to do business things and they're turning a familiar corner into the alleyway they originally dropped into. Luther and Five are staring at the watch and arguing.

"We made it," Diego breathes out.

"Barely!" Five snarls. "We have a minute left on the clock! Where the hell -"

"Evens represent!" Klaus yells, finally getting his breath back. "Hell yeah. Who's top in training now, losers!"

"What-" Luther starts only to be interrupted by Diego.

"No numbers anymore, we're Team Zero!"

"Dude, stop trying to make that a thing," Ben says, appearing on top of the container. 

"Aha!" Klaus says and pulls Ben down from his perch and into a headlock. He puts all his power (physical and super) into giving Ben a noogie. "Can you feel this, Benzo?"

"Gross!" Ben exclaims. "Your sweat is dripping all over me."

"Ben?" Luther says.

"Urgh. I want to die again," Ben finishes dramatically, finally wriggling away from Klaus.

"Is he blue? Are you blue to people?"

Ben elbows Klaus in the stomach and he falls back a few steps with a dramatic wheeze. "Hey guys."

Five breathes out, mouth open and curving into what could almost be called a smile. "You said he didn't make it."

"He didn't! Just arrived today, what incredible ghostly timing," Klaus exclaims as Ben says, "Yeah Klaus says a lot of things I've been here the whole time." 

Five shakes his head, hands in pockets. "Well it's good to have you," Five says. “Now it makes sense how these two idiots made it.” 

"Thanks, Five." 

Luther awkwardly steps forward, reaching towards Ben just as the briefcase on the ground starts charging up with a loud _whirr_ , practically vibrating.

“Goddammit!” Five says, blinking forward and grabbing the briefcase by the handle and hurling it into the sky with a scream.

“Well. We just blew our chance to save the world,” Five says. “We were that close.”

“Damn,” Ben says, staring at the residual blue energy as it dissipates. 

“Yeah,” Klaus agrees. Behind him, Five vibrates with anger, kicking a piece of cardboard into the wall so hard it falls apart. He teleports back inside with a scream that echoes in the alleyway after he’s gone.

“Five!” Luther yells after him, before looking back at Ben and Klaus. “What about Allison and Vanya? Something must have happened to them.”

"I'll check on Allison," Klaus says.

" _We'll_ check on Allison," Ben corrects. Klaus sticks his tongue out at him. It was nice, the past few days, having at least the illusion of being alone. Now he and Ben are gonna be paired up for everything. No more just chilling by himself with his sisters.

"Diego can you - " Luther starts before stopping and staring around the empty alleyway. "Where did he…?" 

"So much for Team Zero," Ben says.

Luther lets out a nervous laugh. "Yeah." He claps Ben on the shoulder before pulling him into a giant hug that dwarfs Ben's small frame. 

Klaus watches them, his two most awkward brothers trembling in each other’s arms. Ben barely comes up to his shoulders and Luther’s ginormous arms are clinging to him so tightly that Klaus is sure ribs would be cracking if Ben had an actual body and not just the mirage of one. Klaus finds himself smiling. It feels nice being able to give this to them.

Within reason, of course. He sees Luther’s eyes start to water and decides enough is enough.

“Aww you guys.” Klaus joins in the hug on his tippy toes, ruffling both Ben and Luther’s hair.

Luther pulls himself together and pulls back, taking one more look at Ben. "Okay. Okay,” He says. “You guys go check on Allison, make sure she’s okay. I’ll handle Five."

"Sir, yes sir!" Klaus gives Luther a sloppy non regulation salute.

“We’ll meet back here.”

Ben smiles. "Don't worry, we're on it."

  
  


  
  



	2. Chapter 2

  
  


  
  


The door slams behind Luther, sound echoing around the alley. Klaus stretches out his arms and lets his power settle again, dropping Ben back to that semi-incorporeal state that's easiest for him to maintain. Corporeal and visible only to Klaus.

"Okay," Ben says, looking each way down the now familiar street that their alley is on. "Which way to Allison's house?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Klaus rolls his eyes, showing him a few treasures from his pockets. Klaus knows from experience now that it's a long walk to Allison’s house in South Dallas. The first thing they need to find is a pawn shop. 

"When did you even steal this stuff?" Ben asks. He sounds a little impressed but mostly horrified. "Is this from the cult?"

"Uh uh uh," Klaus waves him off. "No time for questions now."

"Klaus, come on," Ben groans.

Klaus ignores him in favour of smiling pleasantly at the housewife crossing the street to avoid him, pulling along a kid who looks back at him curiously while sucking his thumb. It's easy to forget other people can't see Ben, when he's so persistently _there_ and _annoying_.

"We've got to check on Allison," Ben continues.

“Yes, yes,” Klaus says, rolling his eyes. "But we'll get to Allison's much quicker in a taxi and for that we need money, numbnuts."

"Oh, classy," Ben says.

"Only the best for you, pumpkin." Klaus draws a heart in the air, just for him. 

"I have an idea," Ben says. Klaus rolls his eyes and immediately tunes him out. Ben’s unwelcome suggestions always start that way. Klaus here’s an idea, just a quick suggestion, how about a pointer on living your life? Bold words for someone who hasn’t _lived_ for over sixteen years.

He tunes back in when Ben snaps his fingers in front of his face, glaring. "Hey. Why not go to the bank?"

"What?" Klaus puts a hand to his chest in fake outrage. "And steal from the community coffers?" 

"And this is different how?" Ben raises one eyebrow.

"Pfft." Klaus waves him off. It's totally different. He doesn't need to explain himself.

"I can't believe you - " Ben starts and then stills. "Oh." 

"You and I both know this doesn't even make the list of top ten unbelievable things I've done this week."

Ben grabs the corner of his shirt, slowing him down as he stares at something in the distance. 

"What?" Klaus asks.

"Hey!" Someone calls out, and Klaus stops so suddenly his sandals scrape against the sidewalk. 

He recognises that voice.

"Dave."

"Hey - uh, excuse me. Sorry I just need to - " Dave says, carefully pushing past an older couple slowly walking down the street. 

And then there he is, the younger version of the love of his life, staring at Klaus with his bright blue eyes, one hand reaching up to nervously run through his short blond hair. Standing in front of Klaus like the last two encounters weren’t hard enough. 

"Uh. Hi, again," Dave starts, putting his hands in the pockets of his tailored pants. He's got another cute button down on, this one with a quaint blue checkered pattern that brings out his eyes. "Can - can we talk somewhere?”

Klaus has to take a moment to catch his breath and collect himself. “Y-yeah. Of course.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Ben says, his voice breaking. He still hasn’t let go of Klaus’ shirt.

Klaus looks at him quickly, before he's drawn back to Dave again like a magnet. 

“I just - I just don’t want you to get hurt again,” Ben says.

“I know,” Klaus says, closing his eyes for a second to contain himself. He puts his hands against his pants, clenching them into fists in an effort to stop shaking. When he opens his eyes again, Dave is still standing there. “I know somewhere we can go.” 

Klaus leads them through the crowded streets to a small diner not far from the alley. It's busy, still going through a late lunch rush, and they're surrounded by the noisy chatter of other patrons. The waitress leads them into a back booth, and Klaus orders a milkshake. Dave offers to pay without a second thought, because of course he does. Such a gentleman, even here in Dallas five years younger but still shipping out to Vietnam next week - 

Don't think about that.

"I have to admit, I didn't think I'd see you again," Klaus says, trying a little too hard to keep his tone light. He sips on the sugary drink. It gives him something to do.

"Yeah. I - uh. I went to the cult earlier. They said you’d left.” 

“Mmhm," Klaus hums. "This morning. My family and I are going home.”

“You from out of state?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” 

"Well, they told me you'd been around this area the past few days so - I - uh. I thought I'd give it a shot. And here you are."

Huh. That’s incredibly disconcerting. After first arriving in 1960, he and Ben had visited the alley a few times looking for their siblings. It had become more difficult once they started travelling though, so it’s been at least three years since either of them have been there. 

Two days back with his family, and the cult knows where he’s been spending his time? 

He tries to smile at Dave, but isn’t sure how successful he is. "And here I am," he says.

"I went to the recruitment office yesterday to finalise some things for my enlistment," Dave starts and Klaus’ heart sinks to his stomach like a rock. "They gave me this."

Dave pulls out a familiar tag and chain, and passes it over to Klaus. 

"It's the same service number and everything," Dave continues.

Klaus trembles, drifting inside the fog of his own mind like a phantom, separate from everything Dave is saying. The metal is shiny and new but it’s the same tag. The physical representation of everything he'd been working to avoid since arriving in 1960. The only thing he ever truly wanted to succeed at. He closes his eyes and runs his shaking fingers over the familiar grooves spelling out Dave’s service number and blood type: AB-039007821. 

It’s exactly the same. He opens his eyes, staring at the numbers, brows furrowing. 

"I uh," Dave hesitates, before continuing. "I wanted you to know I asked to join the Marine corps, instead of the Army."

Klaus is still staring at the tag when the words catch up to him. The chain slips through Klaus' slack fingers and he has to tighten them quickly to stop from dropping it. He meets Dave's gaze, stunned. "What?"

Dave shrugs. "I still don't know if I believe you but I'm not one to dismiss signs - "

"I know," Klaus interjects softly.

"- and the past few days have seemed like a pretty big sign, if nothing else." 

Relief courses through his veins like a physical thing, but his chest still feels tight as he tries to draw in breath. Dave’s fate is out of his hands now. But - but all he can think of is that endless jungle of grief and despair, broken up only by finding pockets of love in the corner of their tent, on leave in Saigon, sitting by each other on the truck, hands brushing as they march through rough terrain.

He tries to smile again, breathing out through his nose.

"Thank you, Dave," Klaus says. 

He hands the tag back, and Dave's fingers brush his as he takes it. It's the first time they've touched since Dave punched him.

“I wish - I wish I could have done more to convince you but -" Klaus says, focusing on keeping his voice steady. "You have no idea what this means to me.” 

"It’s an _honour_ to - " Dave starts again before Klaus interrupts him.

"Yeah, I know. I know." Klaus can't help but roll his eyes a bit at the now familiar spiel. “It’s just. There’s more you can offer the world than war, Dave. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.”

Dave stops, sitting back in his booth. “I guess I need to find that out for myself.” 

“I guess,” Klaus smiles.

"I still don’t really get it,” Dave says, before gesturing between them, a slight blush rising on his cheeks. He can't quite meet Klaus' eyes. “We don’t seem to have much in common."

“I thought you didn’t believe me,” Klaus says, teasing. It’s alright. The boy in front of him isn’t the man Klaus fell in love with. Not yet, maybe not ever. "I'm a soldier too, though. Just a different kind."

“What kind?” Dave asks, and Klaus hesitates. 

He can’t find the words to answer that. Walking past instructional posters on combat and defence since before he could read, training in hand-to-hand since he could walk, going on missions with his siblings, fighting with his useless powers against criminals and terrorists, cornered and watching on in horror as his brother dies in front of him, and then in Vietnam the love of his life bleeding out in his arms - 

The world seems over bright, eyes watering, his chest heavy with some unfamiliar feeling. 

“I - I hope you don’t have the same experience that we did,” he says instead.

Klaus stares at a stain on the wall, hands tightening around his milkshake. He didn’t mean to separate them in his head. He didn’t mean to talk about his Dave in the past tense.

“Me, too,” Dave says. He looks over his shoulder to the door. “I need to get back to work - are you - are you okay?”

Klaus nods, and he knows if he blinks tears will start falling. He just has to keep it together for a few more seconds. “Yeah, my - my brother is nearby.” 

“Okay,” Dave says. “I’ll see you around then.”

It's not a lie. Not exactly. His brother may not be visible right now but he's always with him.

It's hard for Klaus to understand how other people see the world when his world is so full of beings they'll never see. He can always feel ghosts around him, haunted spirits, echoes of the living that call his name desperate for help that he can't give them. As he's learned how to control his power, it's become easy to keep those ghosts away. 

Then there are ghosts he's summoned, selfishly pulled from whatever peace the afterlife offers and tethered to this plane by his power. Dad always pushed him to practice this power, to summon specific ghosts to help on missions. He'd been too scared to really succeed though until - 

Ben.

Ever since summoning Ben, Klaus has never been alone. Not really. At one point, Klaus had meant to bring Dave to the land of the living too, tethered to his very soul. And now he's saved Dave from ever meeting him at all. Whatever future this Dave has is unknown, but at least it isn't - guns on a hill, shot in the chest, desperately screaming for a medic as he bleeds out into the dirt.

Klaus blinks, and the tears start flowing freely down his face. He tries to breathe in to steady himself but he can't quite catch it, air trembling in his lungs as he tries not to hyperventilate. He can't help but wonder, what's happened to his Dave? He's saved this version of Dave from taking fire in a pointless war and he's relieved - he's _so relieved_ but - but -

Ben arrives as quietly as he left, suddenly next to him in the booth. “Are you okay?”

"I'm so tired," Klaus says, voice cracking.

"Yeah," Ben says. "I'm sorry."

"God, why does it hurt so much?" Klaus asks, and lifts one hand up to rub at his nose, sniffing.

"It's grief, Klaus," Ben says.

"Well, it sucks," Klaus lets out a watery laugh. "I miss the Dave I knew so much but I'm still - I'm still so glad he's saved from that." 

Ben just smiles. "You did a really good thing."

"Oh! A compliment!" Klaus teases, throwing him a shaky smile before closing his eyes and touching the dog tags around his neck. He automatically catches Dave’s between his fingers, caressing the scratched metal and that familiar service number. Proof that his Dave existed. "Yeah. Yeah I did."

Klaus leans his full weight against his brother for a few minutes as he cries, legs curled up on the bench. "Thanks, Ben."

There's a moment of silence.

"You know what?" Ben says, putting on a voice that's a little too surprised and overdone to be serious. "I - I really don't think I did anything this time."

Klaus knocks his head against Ben's. "I'm just glad you're here."

Ben leans his head against Klaus' and sighs. "I wouldn't be anywhere else." 

There’s silence for another moment, as they lean against each other, and then Ben ruins it by continuing, "Because I'm stuck. Trapped by your power. I literally can't leave."

Klaus laughs. "Asshole." He tucks the chain away. "We should get to Allison's. It's getting late."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Klaus nods. "Yeah. I really am." 

His Dave deserves whatever peace he can find beyond the light, and this Dave has his entire life stretched before him. 

It's enough.

  
  


* * *

  
  


It’s dark by the time Klaus makes it to the suburb where Allison’s house is. A Chevy drives by, turning in front of him before he crosses the now familiar street to her house. He jumps up the steps, and knocks loudly on the door. 

The lights are on but seconds pass and there’s no movement, no one comes to the door. Klaus shakes his hands out. Maybe he shouldn’t have talked to Dave? Maybe he should have gone to the bank and got money for a taxi?

But then Ray is looking at him through the window and opens the door slightly. 

“Hey, Ray-Ray. I’m so sorry it’s late, but, uh - “

“Klaus," Ray says, sighing his name out like he's already exasperated from his presence. Wow. His brother-in-law is a quick learner. "Now is not a good time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Klaus starts, before spotting his sister in the entrance way behind Ray. He immediately slips past Ray and envelops her in a tight hug. “Allison! We were so worried about you. Thank God you’re okay. What - "

"Oh shit," Ben interrupts him, having materialised inside. He's standing in the sitting room staring at something on the couch wide-eyed.

"What? What is it?" Klaus untangles himself from Allison, who looks a bit startled. He moves past her to lean one arm on Ben's shoulder, like he's been doing ever since his final growth spurt shot him past Ben's height.

Ben also never _actually_ got his last growth spurt. Only a ghostly one. But that's not important.

He stops as he follows Ben's line of sight. 

"Oh, I see." Klaus grimaces. There's a body on Allison's pristine dark green couch, the blanket that Klaus used a few nights ago still neatly folded on the side table next to it. 

"Allison," Ben says, dismayed. Klaus hasn't heard that tone in a long time. It's his most disappointed one, usually reserved for when Klaus was skirting a little too close to another overdose. It's almost nostalgic hearing it for a sibling that isn't him.

"Honey, your uh - your brother is - "

Klaus looks over at them both. Ray's mouth is open, one hand reaching up to cover it as he stares at Klaus. 

"What?" Klaus has no idea. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Ben roll his eyes and jostle his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. 

Klaus makes a face at him. _What?_

Allison just smiles tired and fond. "Getting real close with those Dallas cowboy ghosts, huh?"

Oh. Oops. 

"Ghosts?" Ray says, closing his eyes.

"I told you everyone's powers, remember? Klaus sees ghosts," Allison says, putting a comforting hand on Ray's shoulder as if to steady him. 

"It's just the one ghost at the moment," Klaus says, trying to help.

"Oh good, just the one ghost in our house!" Ray says quietly in the background, a little hysterical.

Klaus has always been a big believer in showing rather than telling, so he tightens his hands into fists and then lets his power flow through his connection to Ben. He can tell when Ben becomes visible and solid because Allison’s mouth drops open and her eyes water.

"Oh." Allison makes a sound like she's lost all her breath. "Oh my god. Ben?"

"Hey, Ally."

Allison launches herself into his arms, sobbing, cupping the back of his head. She pulls back, eyes watering and breathes in shakily, running her thumbs over Ben's cheeks before pushing her hand up into his perfectly gelled hair.

"Hey!" Ben pulls back a bit, smiling cheekily as if worried she's going to mess up his eternal ghost hairstyle.

"Look at you!" She says. "You've grown so much." 

"They might be a while," Klaus says, smiling at Ray. He leans against the wall, and watches as Allison pulls Ben back into a hug. Ben closes his eyes into it. 

"I can't believe you're here," Allison mumbles into his shoulder.

“I missed you too,” Ben says into her hair. “So much.” 

She pulls back and looks at his face one more time, wiping away tears, before finally turning around to smile at her husband. "I didn't expect to ever be able to do this, but uh. Ray, this is my brother Ben.”

“Hey man,” Ben says, offering his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Ray moves forward from where he's leaning in the entrance way, staring slack-jawed at the man who suddenly materialised out of thin air in his living room, and shakes his hand automatically. “Another brother. A - a ghost brother.” 

“Yep,” Ben says. “The afterlife is mostly glorified babysitting, who knew.” 

Klaus makes a face at him. 

“Are you okay, Ray? I’m sorry I know it’s - it’s weird.” Allison smiles nervously. “Our whole family is a bit much.”

“No,” Ray says, softly. He looks at Ben, who still has Allison clinging to one of his hands. She can't seem take her eyes off him for more than a few seconds, even as she looks to Ray to make sure he's not upset. “No, it’s amazing.”

Klaus waves it off, putting a hand on Ray’s shoulder. “You have some ghosts you’d like to talk to? I could be convinced.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Ray says, smiling. “But yeah. My little sister died when she was sixteen. I’d do anything to talk to her again, see her grown up.”

“I’d just turned seventeen,” Ben says, quietly.

"I'm sorry. It's too young for anyone to go," Ray says, and then claps Klaus back on the shoulder. “You’ve got an incredible gift there, Klaus.”

A gift. That’s - Klaus doesn’t know what to say to that. That’s a word Klaus has never used for his powers. 

Growing up with ghosts haunting his every step, chasing his shadow, asking him for help that he can’t give them. Summoning his brother back into the land of the living and keeping him from whatever peace lies on the other side.

He watches as another tear slips down Allison’s face, though, and she pulls Ben into another hug. Ben says something into her ear and she laughs into his leather jacket. 

That’s not true though. This morning Ben had told him _I’m right where I want to be_. He’d said he was scared of going to the light, of being separated from Klaus and their siblings. As he watches Ben smile into Allison’s hair he thinks he starts to understand.

A gift.

He remembers Ben when he first summoned him, still _so young_ , with plump cheeks and inches left to grow. That’s not the Ben he knows anymore, but that’s the Ben his siblings remember. The last time Allison saw Ben he was practically a child, terrified of his powers and desperate to protect his family and covered in blood as - 

Klaus breathes out slowly.

He can't imagine not having Ben by his side, can't imagine what his life would have been like those years without Ben in his shadow, watching out for him on the street corner, providing unhelpful commentary to distract from conversations, rolling his eyes at every decision he makes. His power has given them that.

A gift. 

Allison pulls away again. “Okay, come on. Let’s sit down,” she says, leading Ben to the dining room table, still not willing to let go of his hand. “I think we could all use some tea and some time to catch up.” 

“Yes, tea,” Klaus practically moans in agreement. 

“I’ll grab us all something, any preferences?” Ray asks.

“Oh, I can’t drink,” Ben says.

“But he likes to smell the fruity ones,” Klaus interjects. “Do you have chamomile? I’m so tired right now, chamomile would be perfect.” 

“They smell good,” Ben mumbles defensively.

“A fruity tea and a chamomile coming right up.” 

“Thanks, babe,” Allison smiles at him. “But you two! Ben, how the hell did Klaus end up starting a cult with you there?”

“Yeah, that was mostly an accident,” Ben admits.

“It just happened! And maybe the levitation thing was a bit much,” Klaus says, shrugging.

“You enjoyed the attention, don’t deny it,” Ben says.

“No wait, go back. You can levitate now?” Allison says, putting one hand up to her head.

“Well, with an invisible assistant lots of things are possible.” Klaus smiles cheekily at Ben and starts to open his mouth.

“No - we’re not doing that again. Nope.” 

Allison laughs. “I missed you two.”

After they finish their tea, Ben ends up in the study with Ray presumably salivating over books or something else nerdy. Klaus doesn’t remember falling asleep on the couch, but he wakes to Allison and Ray trying to roll the body up in what looks like a very nice rug.

Ben is sitting on the floor by the couch watching them struggle, but looks up at Klaus when he stirs. “You fell asleep while Ray was showing me his annotated copy of Anna Karenina. It dropped through my hands onto his foot.” 

“Shit, really?” Klaus laughs, sitting up. “Urgh what time is it?”

Ben pulls himself up onto the couch next to Klaus. “Past 11am. You slept in, dude,” Ben says and over the top of him Allison smiles at him apologetically. “Sorry Klaus. You were fast asleep, we were trying not to wake you but - well.” She gestures at the body they’re trying awkwardly to move.

That won’t do at all. It's way too early to have to listen to people talking over the top of each other. Klaus lets his power run through the tether connecting him to Ben until he’s visible. “Yeah, well _someone_ kept me up the night before last.”

“What? Who would do that?” Ben says, all pretend innocence. “That’s so rude.” 

“Yeah,” Klaus nods and elbows him in the kidneys, ignoring his cry of pain. He may fool other people but he doesn’t fool Klaus. 

"Morning Ben,” Allison says, practically beaming at him and completely proving Klaus' point.

“Morning, sorry I couldn’t help. Someone was sleeping.” 

“Oh, come on. Get off my case!”

“Hey though, guess what?" Ben says, practically vibrating with excitement. 

Klaus sighs. "What?"

It's going to be about books again, isn't it.

"Ray was showing me his library last night. He has a _first edition_ copy of the Fellowship of the Ring,” Ben says with particular emphasis on the first edition part. Klaus will never understand his beautiful dork of a brother. It's just an older book? The words are the same?

“Oh, great,” Klaus rolls his eyes. 

“He said we could borrow some!”

“No!” Klaus says. “No way. You don’t have a body most of the time. We all know who’s going to end up carrying them around.” 

“Klaus,” Ben whines, looking at him with large, pleading eyes. It's like having a puppy, if that puppy was a massive nerd who can pester you constantly.

In front of them, Allison and Ray struggle to lift up the body, but as they do there's a sudden flash of blue light from the dining room. Ray shrieks and plasters himself against the far wall.

The blue light disappears, and Diego is standing there with a short portly man and a briefcase. 

"All right, you guys are here." Diego says casually, and looks around the house he's teleported into. "We gotta go." 

"Diego, Jesus!" Allison says, throwing her hands up.

It's then that Diego notices the body on the floor, wrapped in the rug. "What the hell have you three been up to?"

"Don't look at us, dude was already dead when we arrived," Ben says. 

"No ghost though. It’s so nice when they move on," Klaus comments, kicking at Ben's leg. 

Ben smiles sweetly back at him and blows him a kiss.

The short dude seems to be vibrating on the spot in excitement as Allison puts her hand up to her head, as if massaging out an ache. "Ray, this is my _other_ brother, Diego," she finally says.

"Hey, man. Sorry to crash in here like this," Diego moves forward, grabbing Ray's hand and shaking it since he seems a bit too stunned to move at all.

"Wowzers!" A nasally voice interjects. "Number Two, Three, Four _and even Six!_ We didn't even know you were around. This is like winning the Umbrella jackpot, oh boy. My colleagues aren't going to believe it." 

"Who the hell are you?" Klaus asks.

Ben shrinks back a bit at the way the guy is looking at him. "I don't want to look real anymore, Klaus. Un-manifest me."

"N-numbers?" Ray asks. 

Allison nods her head with a strained smile that's twisted into more of a grimace, like she'd rather anything else be happening right now. "Oh did I - did I not mention that?"

"Ah yes, our numbers. Thank you for bringing that up, stranger," Klaus drawls, arms spreading out to hang over Ben's back.

"We prefer our names, thanks," Ben says.

"Oh, but no one knows the Umbrella Academy by their names," the guy protests. 

"Okay, no no no." Klaus puts one hand up to stop him. "Who the hell is this guy and why is he here?" 

"This is Herb, he worked with Five at the Commission."

"What the hell is the Commission?

"We monitor and maintain the time-space continuum," Herb says with some strange hand movements indicating, Klaus assumes, the square shape of the time-space continuum. It definitely sounds made up. 

"Okay."

"No, for real. I was just there. It's awesome." Diego says, approaching Allison with a serious look on his face. "I got to look at the timeline. I know what causes doomsday. It's Vanya."

“Oh shit,” Ben says, under his breath. They both leap onto their feet and join Allison and Diego. Vanya, again?

“No,” Allison says. "How?"

"She's gonna blow up the federal building at Dealey Plaza just as the president's passing through in less than one hour. We gotta find her and stop her, now."

Allison just looks confused. "Wait, Vanya kills the president?"

"No, no, no. See, the explosion causes the motorcade to drive off. Kennedy lives. Everybody thinks Russia's behind it, including the president. He strikes back, they strike back. Before you know it, it's raining nukes."

There's a small gasp from the other side of the room, and they look over to see Ray standing rigidly by the wall. He hasn't moved at all since shaking Diego's hands, except for a tremor that seems to run through his entire body. His eyes are still fixed at the spot where Diego and Herb materialised.

Allison runs up to him and holds his hand, massaging it slightly as if to help with the shaking. She pulls him into the dining room as he stutters over everything that was just revealed. “Ray? Are you okay? Okay.” 

Herb brightly offers body removal and deep cleaning, because apparently that's what an organisation that maintains the entire time-space continuum spends money on, but Diego ignores him completely to clap Ben on the shoulder and pull him in for another hug.

“Nice to see you, man.” 

“Hey, where’s my hug?” Klaus asks. 

Diego responds by pulling him into a headlock, one arm tight around his neck and the other on his head. Then he uses the hand on his head to mess up his hair so it’s flying all over the place. Klaus retaliates by biting his forearm as hard as he can - he got the same training the rest of them did and his time on the streets means he can fight twice as dirty. 

Diego lets go with a very manly shriek. “What the hell? I think you drew blood!” 

"Ha!" Klaus yells. 

In the background, Allison untangles herself from her husband. She closes her eyes for a moment, breathing against him, before she rejoins her family. "Alright, I'm ready." 

"Are you okay?" Ben asks, taking her hand.

She just nods her head, blinking a few times to get rid of the tears and then composes herself. "Let's go save Vanya."

  
  


* * *

  
  


The taxi ride is tense. No one makes a sound, hands fiddling, looking out the window at the streets of Dallas, wishing the car could somehow go _faster._

It takes them all the way to Dealey Plaza, and they throw money at the driver and run out onto the crowded street panic stricken. There are people everywhere, couples walking hand-in-hand, friends taking photographs, and families with young children lining the street waiting to see the president drive by.

All waiting to see Vanya blow up the FBI building and start a nuclear doomsday.

“Which way to the FBI building?” Allison asks, turning in circles to try and look over people to see the buildings in the distance.

“This way!” Diego calls, and runs ahead. 

The building they approach is utilitarian, with exposed concrete and large uniform windows. It’s also heavily guarded - as soon as they run through the doors, panting and searching frantically for the elevators, a security guard in dark grey button down stops them. 

“Hey!” The guard says, hand on his holster. “What’s your business here?”

“I heard a rumour,” Allison starts, air distorting around her as she speaks. “That you let us up to where Vanya Hargreeves is.” 

The security guard looks confused for a second, before his eyes turn white and his entire demeanour changes.

“Of course. It’s just this way, ma’am,” the security guard says with a smile. He escorts them past the security desk, weaving around FBI personnel that smile and greet him, until they find themselves in a secluded lobby. “Level five!” He tells them, waving them through.

“Thank you!” Klaus says as the four of them shuffle into the elevator. The guard may be hypnotised and stripped of his will but he’s very helpful. 

“Nicely done,” Ben says to Allison as soon as the elevator doors close behind them.

“Thanks,” Allison says, giving him a strained smile. Her hands are clenched tight around her arms. “I just hope we make it to Vanya in time."

The building shakes as if in response to her words, and the lights flicker. 

"Shit," Ben says. "That's not a good sign." 

That goes without saying. Klaus fiddles with his flask - he could really use a drink right now.

The elevator let’s out a _ding! _and the doors open and immediately the four of them are pushed back against the wall by overwhelming power. Allison and Diego barely make it to cover, but when Klaus goes to follow he and Ben are struck by a burst of power that comes from down the hallway.__

____

____

Klaus instinctively stops sending his power to Ben, dropping him back to incorporeality and invisibility. Ben sits on the floor where he stopped moving and stares in horror at the light pulsing down the hallway, while Klaus crawls through him to grab onto Allison’s hand.

"This is not good!" Ben yells to Klaus.

"No kidding, genius!" Klaus says, looking around the room at the terrified corpses. “Who are we even trying to save Vanya from?”

“FBI!” “FBI!” Diego and Allison say together. 

“No, you’re right,” Ben says, horror growing on his face. He’s standing next to where they’re sheltered and from the look on his face there are a lot more corpses in that direction

“Thank you!” Klaus gestures to Ben, even though the others can’t see him. “They’re all sucking ceiling right now, so why hasn’t she stopped?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Diego says, determined. “Vanya’s in the room at the end of the hall.”

“How do you propose we get to her?” Allison asks.

“I haven’t figured that one out yet.”

“Well you can count me out,” Klaus says, opening up his flask.

“Klaus!” Allison says, glaring at him.

“What? You guys should save her. You’re great at all the hero shit.”

“Klaus!” Allison reaches over and slaps him on the arm, knocking some gin out of his flask. Rude.

"It'll be okay, Klaus!" Ben says. "I can help you!"

"No, no way,” Klaus yells up at him with a grimace. “Look where it got you!”

"Is that Ben?" Diego asks, crawling over to grab onto his knees. "Listen to him, okay. You can do it, man."

“And that’s my cue,” Allison says, and starts making the trek up the hallway. He can hear her screaming for Vanya as she tries to move forward and then there’s a thud.

Diego must have a better line of sight, because he takes out his knives and starts moving forward. Klaus tries to talk to him, tries to tell him something, his stupid shaggy haircut suits him so much and he needs to know that before he goes and also - 

Klaus doesn’t want to be left alone.

Vanya's power whips around him, whizzing around his ears like bullets spiralling through air and Klaus just covers his ears with his hands and lies on the ground and closes his eyes and tries desperately to focus on the here and now. There are no bullets thudding against dirt or thick jungle. Just Vanya. Tiny timid Vanya and her incredible power, her soundwaves vibrating the very air they’re trying to breathe.

But he’s not alone. He's never really alone.

“You’re alright,” Ben says, kneeling by him and cutting through the sound of Vanya’s pure power. “You’re okay Klaus.”

Klaus takes in a deep shuddering breath and looks up at him, before suddenly Diego's voice screams down at them from the hallway. "Klaus, I’m not gonna make it! It's up to you guys now!"

“No, that’s a terrible idea, Diego!”

"It’ll be okay, Klaus,” Ben says. His voice is soft and earnest, but somehow Klaus can still hear him. “I can help you."

Klaus breathes out through his nose and closes his eyes, focusing on his powers again. He can do this. This is easy. It’s as easy as breathing to make Ben invisible and corporeal, to the point where it’s almost his natural state now.

Despite this, the first time he reaches up for Ben his hand goes straight through.

Klaus leans his head back against the barrier. “I don’t know if I can do this!”

"Yes, you can!" Ben says. “Vanya needs us!"

It had taken them months to practice when they first arrived in the 1960's, stranded in an unfamiliar time period with no sign of their siblings. Klaus had chased that feeling from in the auditorium, when his hands had lit blue and he’d funnelled his power down the tether to Ben and lit him up and let him interact with the world.

At the time, it had felt like the only thing he could do for them.

Once he got used to the feeling, they had quickly realised there were more useful ways to manifest Ben. It was much easier to not be visible for the tricks they needed to pull off for Klaus to survive. The fawning of his benefactors and adoration of guests and disciples had also been good motivation to learn quickly.

Klaus tries to hold onto that feeling now.

"You can do this, Klaus,” he says quietly to himself. “You fought in Vietnam. You survived a family of _seven._ You once wore a sarong to a fraternity party and got a shitload of numbers.”

The next time he reaches up to Ben, he grabs onto his hand and they connect. _They connect._

Klaus holds tightly onto the fire hose Diego sent down, and Ben grabs him by the waist and they slowly start to move.

"You’re so heavy!" Ben teases as they struggle against the power that's billowing around them. 

"Shut up, asshole!"

Every step they take, the whole building shakes with bursts of power. Klaus stumbles, but Ben just tightens his arms around him and pushes them forward.

For the first time, Klaus praises ghost endurance. The closer they get to Vanya the harder it is to see, to feel anything but the vibrating light swirling the air around him. He can feel it in his bones. It doesn't affect Ben at all though, and he holds him steady.

Tiny little Vanya. Who would have thought?

Finally, they make it to the doorway. There's a massive burst of power as Klaus opens the door, so strong that Klaus can feel his teeth rattle inside his skull. Ben holds on tight to him, though, and they only slip back a few feet.

“You okay?” Ben screams at him.

“Barely!” Klaus says, shaking. His skin feels paper thin, and he swears he can feel his heartbeat in his fingertips.

They make it back to the doorway with no small amount of effort, and there’s some kind of barrier made of pure energy that stings brutally as Ben pushes them through. Even Ben makes a sound like it hurts. At that sound of pain, Klaus grabs onto the door frame and uses it to launch himself through and stumbles before Vanya.

"Shit, shit, shit," Klaus says, holding tight onto the chair so her power doesn't blow him away again. Her face and skin are bleached a stark white, reminiscent of that day in the auditorium.

"Vanya?" He calls out to her.

"Vanya!" Klaus tries again yelling and shaking at her shoulder. "She's not responding!"

Then he suddenly shrieks, ducking his head low as some rubble flies passed his shoulder. "I knew I couldn't do this!"

"There's gotta be something we can do," Ben says, staring at her face intently.

"What about that thing on her head?" Klaus yells, gesturing to the wires connecting her to some strange kind of torture machine. Ben moves towards it and Klaus whispers a song lyric in prayer underneath his breath. _I’m on the right track baby I was born -_

"It's fried!" Ben yells back to him. No luck.

"What do we do?" Klaus yells.

Ben stares at Vanya. "I think I have an idea."

"Well I'm all ears!" Klaus screams, trying again to shake at Vanya but shrieking again as he has to grab onto the chair to stop from sliding back.

"Maybe I can get through to her if I possess her?" Ben yells. He's standing next to where Klaus is clinging to the chair now. Klaus spends a moment thinking about how unfair it is that he doesn't even need to think about holding on, before Ben's words catch up to him.

"What?" Klaus screams. There's another pulse of pure energy, bright white light, brighter than anything and so terrifyingly powerful that Klaus' stomach clenches. "But she's out of control!"

"She can't hear us, Klaus!" Ben yells. "It's the only way."

The building seems to groan around them, in time with Klaus' groan of panic. 

Ben stares at Vanya. 

Klaus has seen him look like that before, but only once.

The truth is that Klaus doesn't remember much about the mission. The final one. When The Umbrella Academy let down one of their own.

He remembers they’d been training in the lead up for weeks, a tip-off that there would be an attack on something or the other. He hadn’t paid attention. But he’d told Dad he was having success practising with an ouija board and scented candles, even though by then he knew it did nothing to help his powers.

He’d felt pretty clever. It was the perfect cover for getting high during his personal training hours.

On the day, he thinks he was bickering with Diego as he tried unsuccessfully to summon someone for intel about the building. Diego was curving projectiles away from him, as cover, but one had hit the wall next to his head and scared the bejesus out of him. Luther and Allison teamed up of course and they hadn’t even realised anything was wrong until - 

Well.

He remembers Ben stepping forward, staring resolute, unblinking. The way the building shook and moaned as The Horror tore out of his stomach and whipped through walls like butter.

The blood.

_Unfortunately, none of you are such people._

Dad had been wrong. He’d always been wrong.

"Just. Just promise me you can handle it?" Klaus asks.

"I promise," Ben says and reaches for Klaus’ hand, the one that's still wrapped tight around the chair. "Whatever happens.”

"Ben - "

"I know." Ben says, and then he's hugging Klaus again. Klaus holds on tight to Vanya's chair with one hand and wraps Ben up in the other as tight as he can. Vanya's power whips around him and Klaus breathes out shakily and burrows himself into the soft leather of Ben's jacket. There's no smell, there's no warmth. Just his brother.

Then Ben reaches out, touches Vanya and he's gone.

Klaus suddenly finds himself with empty arms, clinging only onto thin air, sliding back against the onslaught of Vanya's power again. He squawks as his fingers slip against the wood, and he pulls himself up and holds onto the chair as tight as he can.

The dickhead. He probably did that on purpose.

He focuses.

"Come on, come on," he whispers like a mantra, the words getting lost in the storm of Vanya's power. "Come on."

Klaus focuses his energy on his tether to Ben, pushing his power towards him but it's - it's strange like this. "Come on, come on." 

He rests his head on his hands and tries so hard to focus on Ben and push his power through to him but it’s - it's almost resistant - it's like there's some kind of magnetic field repelling his power back to him.

A chill settles deep within him. They're never trying this ghost possession thing again. 

Never.

He breathes in deep and tries again.

Never.

And then, after what feels like forever, Vanya's power seems to settle. The winds die down and there’s just light.

"Oh my god," Klaus smiles, laughing in giddy relief. "He did it."

The tether feels strange like this.

Vanya's power hovers in the air around them, lighting up the room with pure energy. The moment seems suspended.

It feels... strange.

Klaus can't quite describe the feeling. The tether connecting him to Ben almost seems to shiver, refracting that pure light back and through him twofold and -

_The light._

"No," Klaus breathes, realisation hitting him. His stomach clenches and he refocuses all his energy on Ben again. He tries as hard as he can to move that well of energy through to his brother.

"No," he says again, desperate.

His power swells inside him but doesn't move. Spirits rise and fall around him but they're not the _right one._

Vanya's eyelids flutter.

And the tether that has connected him to Ben for sixteen years disintegrates into nothing.

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I did say some things stay the same.
> 
> Thanks so much for the support on the first part! I'm on tumblr [@caedi](http://caedi.tumblr.com) if you want to cry with me about Ben Hargreeves.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this final part ended up being over 10,000 words and making it flow was giving me a headache so I've split it into two! Part four is mostly written and just needs to be edited so will be uploaded next Saturday. Thanks for all the support so far, it means the world. I really hope the final parts don't disappoint.
> 
> TW: This part deals with grief/mourning and dissociation.

  
  


  
  


Klaus doesn’t remember much from his childhood. There's something to be said about the impact trauma has on memory, and some days Klaus still feels like that terrified child, barely five years old, retreating into the corners of his mind in a desperate attempt to protect himself while locked in a mausoleum filled with his worst nightmares.

Klaus doesn't like to linger, though. He remembers moments, he remembers his family. That's what's important.

His favorite nanny who let him wear cute tops on the weekend. 

The smell of Mom's cookies throughout the house.

Sneaking into Allison's room to steal her new glittery nail polish. 

Trying to catch crickets on warm summer nights in the courtyard with Diego.

Sitting with Five in the library as he works through a particularly difficult problem. 

Hiding all of Luther's shorts before training sessions so he'd be late and get in trouble.

Listening to Vanya practice through the shared wall of their bedrooms.

Ben.

When they were little, before they started going on missions, their father let them each pick an extracurricular activity. He told them they’d receive supplies to continue their chosen activity for the duration of their education.

Vanya had picked music, of course. 

Allison had wanted to know how to say "I heard a rumour" in as many languages as possible.

Diego had declared he would beat Luther at whatever activity he chose, but then Luther picked astronomy so Diego had called him a nerd and picked up boxing instead. 

Klaus had never really stuck with one thing. Apparently wanting to get the perfect tan in the courtyard wasn't an appropriate extracurricular, so Pogo had let him try a few different things. One month he'd been entrusted with a herb garden which he'd killed trying to get away from a persistent ghost who was missing half his head, brain matter dripping down his open jaw and onto the ground. Another month he’d tried astrology, which had lasted about as long as the herb garden. He’d created fake horoscopes based on the milliseconds they were all born at and watched in glee as his siblings descended into chaos.

Ben had picked reading, and so each month Pogo would give him a selection of classic literature appropriate for his age. 

Klaus hadn't understood. They had to read for class, so why do it more? But Ben said it helped him, that escaping into other worlds distracted him from his powers and Klaus understood that. Klaus was building up his own arsenal of coping mechanisms, which Dad took delight in confiscating. His night light. His walkman. His bubble baths.

"It's time you conquered your fears, Number Four!"

All throughout his childhood Klaus was kept awake by ghosts crying out for help and screaming his number through bloody teeth. Some nights he’d try to scribble their messages on his bedroom wall until they left him alone or he ran out of ink or he fell into an exhausted, terrified heap on his bed.

Other nights Klaus would slowly open his bedroom door until he could slip through and he’d sneak upstairs. He'd jump over the third step, which creaked loud enough to wake the dead, and he'd open Ben's door. Ben was always up late reading by torchlight, but as soon as Klaus arrived he'd switch to reading out loud.

"Now she got a start and she went on and told me all about the good place," Ben whispered one night, as Klaus settled in next to him. "She said all anybody would have to do there was go around all day long with a harp and sing forever and ever. So I didn't think much of it."

"Sounds boring," Klaus remembers whispering into his brother's pillow.

"Yeah," Ben had replied, before kicking him away. "Your feet are cold! Stay on your side!" and Klaus had kicked back and things devolved from there to Klaus putting his icy hands on his brother's face until he fell off the bed trying to get away from him and Klaus forgot about the ghosts altogether. 

That had been one of the last times. Not long after that, their missions had started and with missions came access to fans and the outside world and all sorts of vices that Klaus quickly discovered helped drown out the ghosts even more than listening to his brother read. 

Ben remembered though.

Years later, when Klaus was living on the street and guilt had settled into his stomach like an old friend, Ben would sit next to him and read. When Klaus was coming down hard and ghosts were creeping on the edge of his vision, Ben would read passages from the book he’d had in his pocket when he died, or other stories he knew from memory, or when he ran out of stories he’d talk about their childhood.

Wasn't Luther angry that time they slipped purple hair dye into his shampoo? His hair had been neon for the whole mission in Brazil. 

Where did the Eiffel Tower spaceship end up? Is there another planet out there with an Eiffel Tower? 

Remember that time Allison swore during a live interview? She tried to cover it up by saying she loved ducks, but everyone knew she was a horse girl.

Do you think Dr. Terminal is still alive? What if we walked by him on the street, we probably wouldn't even recognise him. That dude there could be him.

It helped. A distraction from the dead.

"Klaus?" 

He hears his name, distantly. It barely registers.

"Klaus?"

He hears his name again but it’s not - it’s not. 

Klaus breathes in suddenly, like he'd forgotten how.

He looks up.

It’s Vanya. She's free of her constraints and hovering by him, like she’s waiting for an invitation, unsure of her place. All throughout their childhood Vanya looked down at them from Dad’s elbow with that exact expression, clipboard and timer in hand, ready to watch their latest training exercise.

Klaus has never seen Ben look like that.

When Ben possessed him, Klaus had felt like he was dreaming, separate from his body. After a few seconds it had been over and he'd woken up on the floor with Ben beside him. He feels a little like that now, like he's dreaming, like he's separate from his body. He thinks - he thinks he's awake though.

And Vanya is awake so Ben should be here.

Klaus tries to focus on the tether to give him more power and make him visible maybe he just needs to be visible but -

There's nothing. There isn’t a wound, just an absence of something that had become normal. 

Vanya reaches for him and he leans back.

"No,” he says closing his eyes and focusing again. 

"Klaus," she starts and there’s something in her tone that he doesn't want to hear. "I'm sorry."

He shakes his head.

"I'm sorry," she says again and he looks up at her. She looks unbearably sad.

Klaus drops his hands into his lap. They aren't even glowing blue like they normally do when he makes Ben's ghostly form visible to others. There’s nowhere for his power to move. 

"What happened?" He asks.

"I don't know. It - my power - it was hurting him."

"He's a _ghost_ ," Klaus says because that doesn’t make sense.

But Ben had made a sound when they were walking through Vanya’s power. They'd pushed through and Klaus just focused on getting to Vanya because his brother is a ghost, his brother is already dead, he hasn't had to worry about him for almost seventeen years, he hasn't had to worry about him since that last, final mission when Ben stepped forward and -

"He saved me. He saved the world, but he couldn't hold on any longer and he just - " Vanya continues. Her voice breaks on the last word and Klaus doesn’t hear what just happened to Ben. It’s okay though, he’s not sure he wants to. 

"Show-off," Klaus mutters, but his heart isn't in it and his voice shakes despite his best efforts. Vanya finally rests her hand on Klaus’ knee and moves forward like she’s going to pull Klaus into a hug and he’s not sure he can handle that now no matter how much it looks like Vanya needs it and -

There’s a sound from the doorway and both Klaus and Vanya look up to see Allison and Diego standing there, looking relieved. 

"Did we just save the world?" Diego asks, and Klaus shakes his head. "There's still time to save Kennedy, we're not too late!"

"Diego!" Allison calls after him. “And he’s gone.”

Allison stares after his retreating back, before looking back at Klaus and Vanya. Her relieved smile falls from her face as she seems to notice the tension in the room. “Wait, what’s wrong?”

"Ben saved me," Vanya says. "I remembered everything. I lost control."

"Oh, Vanya."

"He's gone," she finishes and Klaus closes his eyes. He knew that. He knew it as soon as the tether to his brother disappeared, but hearing Vanya say it out loud shakes something inside him. “He - he just disappeared into lights.”

Oh.

Klaus thinks distantly that that’s what it felt like to him as well. 

The tether connecting Ben to his power dispersed into tiny light particles. 

And then Ben was gone.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Klaus comes back to himself lying on an ugly checkered blanket and staring at Elliot’s dresser. He can hear his siblings outside the door, Vanya whispering something and the sound of water running and further away someone angrily muttering like - Diego - Diego must be downstairs and upset about JFK again. 

He remembers they'd been at the FBI building and Vanya was out of control and Ben - Ben. 

What happened after that though? They must have left the building. Did they walk back to the alley through the panic-stricken streets of Dallas? Did they take a taxi? Klaus isn’t sure.

and Ben is - Ben is still gone.

The last time Klaus felt Ben’s absence like this was Vietnam. He’d gone from being tortured in a hotel, with his brother by his side, into the Vietnam War in a different time period and for the first time he’d realised that he _felt_ Ben’s absence. 

Before Vietnam, having Ben tethered to his power had been - it had just been completely normal for thirteen years. Back then he’d never used the tether, didn’t know he could siphon power to his brother and light him up ghostly blue for the world to see, didn’t know that if he funneled enough of his power through to him, if he _wished_ for it hard enough, he could make Ben look alive again and let him interact with the world.

Eventually Klaus had Dave to distract him, and Dave was _the best_ distraction from the horror he’d been dropped into, a distraction he didn’t know to ask for, a distraction he didn’t know he needed and still sometimes didn’t believe he’d deserved but for Dave he’d _try_ every day to deserve him. 

Klaus had found meaning while living in 1968 that he’d never had back in 2019. He'd found meaning in Dave.

Those first few nights though Klaus had sat in the back of the tent and tried to ignore the sounds of guns being loaded and bullets being counted and he’d thought of his brother. Klaus’ fists had lit up blue for the first time in years as he drew on his power and tried to pull that familiar tether back into place. 

Black combat boots and that dumb hoodie and leather jacket combo that Ben still thought was stylish but never had been. 

The way he twisted his mouth into a disapproving frown when he disagreed with something Klaus had done.

A soft steady voice that read to him when the ghosts got too loud. A steady voice that reminded him of the parts of their childhood worth remembering.

His power had searched and searched and - 

Nothing.

There had been no response. 

Eventually, he’d realised that Ben's ghost had no business being in 1968, decades before his birth. He remembers thinking that maybe - maybe without Klaus - Ben could finally move on. And after that thought, Ben's absence had been a relief. Klaus could do this for his brother, with all his options taken away from him. Klaus wouldn't be keeping Ben from paradise anymore.

But that’s not true now.

Klaus remembers looking at Ben yesterday morning, sun shining in through the windows, as he told Klaus that he _wanted_ to be here with their siblings. He’d always wanted to be here.

It’s a strange thought after over a decade of feeling like he was keeping his brother from that good place, with endless singing and peace. It’s a strange thought after over a decade of pushing down the guilt that sat in the pit of his stomach.

Ben _wants_ to be here. Ben travelled through time with him and helped him through years stuck in the sixties and lifted Klaus above his head with maximum complaining and accidentally started a cult with him and got a stupid crush here and _died_ again here. 

Klaus breathes in deep and has almost convinced himself when there’s a knock on the door. 

Both Allison and Vanya are in the doorway, smiling tentatively. Vanya peers around a little nervously. She’s carrying a glass of water in her hand. 

“Can we come in?” Allison asks, already moving forward to sit on the other side of the bed. 

“I uh - I got you some water,” Vanya says unnecessarily. 

“Oh,” Klaus says, watching a little cautiously as Vanya sits next to him and hands him the glass. “Thanks.”

“Are you - are you okay?” 

Klaus puts the water down on the bedside table. “I was just about to - “ he trails off, unsure how to explain that he was about to pull Ben from eternal peace again. Apparently one conversation doesn’t completely get rid of the lingering feeling of guilt and shame.

Allison shifts on the mattress, looking like it’s taking all of her willpower not to ask more questions and get him to finish his sentence. Vanya is trying to smile but she’s fiddling with the edge of her shirt, fingers moving back and forth and back and forth.

Klaus breathes in deep and sits up on the bed so he can face Vanya. “Did - “ he starts, tucking his hair behind his ear. “Did Ben say anything about me?"

Vanya visibly hesitates. "Ben said you knew everything already."

"Oh," Klaus says. He supposes from a certain perspective Ben saying that is almost sweet. But it's also typical, because Ben is an asshole to the very end. Surely he knows one conversation won't fix _decades_ of miscommunication.

And then Vanya continues, almost like she doesn’t want to say the words. “But he also said something that I don’t understand. It seemed a little mean?”

Klaus lets out an involuntary laugh. “Yeah well. He _is_ an asshole.” 

The corner of Vanya’s mouth curves upward. It’s very small but it’s there. He can tell that she doesn’t really agree but is too polite to say anything out loud. Klaus gets it - they haven’t seen Ben in a long time. Not really.

“He said to tell you not to keep him waiting alone for too long this time,” Vanya finishes finally.

“What?” Allison asks. The word seems to have burst out of her completely involuntarily, like she’s been shocked into speaking. “What, like Ben wants one of us to d- ”

“Oh,” Klaus says, but it’s more of a relieved exhale than an actual exclamation. He barely registers that Allison is speaking, falling back against the ugly wooden bed head and staring at the ceiling. “That little shit-heel. Always making me do all the work.” 

“No, there’s no way he meant that,” Vanya says, holding her hands up to appease Allison. “Right Klaus?”

“What else could he mean?!” Allison says, leaning forward.

Klaus isn't sure how to put it into words, a slow smile reaching across his face. "It - it means he didn't want to leave."

“I'm sorry -" Vanya starts.

"No," Klaus shakes his head. "I don't mean it like that, Van."

"Then how - "

"He wants me to bring him back again."

"Oh," Allison sits back, her entire posture changing as she smiles. “ _Oh._ ” 

“You could do that?” Vanya asks, eyes wide.

"It's not like he stuck around the first time after he died. I summoned him in the courtyard pavilion after his funeral," Klaus says. "We talked about it yesterday for the first time. I was worried I was keeping him from the afterlife but - "

"He wants to come back,” Allison says. “His funeral was days after he died and - and he doesn’t want you to keep him waiting that long again.”

Klaus laughs. "Yeah."

"So you can bring him back?" Vanya asks, breathless.

"I think so. It's just been a while since I've done it."

"How long?" Allison asks.

"Uh. Almost seventeen years?" Klaus says.

"Oh," Vanya whispers. "Ben's the only ghost you've ever summoned." 

“Yeah,” Klaus says, nodding his head. He feels suddenly anxious, fingers twisting in his lap, as he looks at the hopeful faces of his sisters. In the interest of full disclosure, he continues. "I've also never summoned a ghost who moved on. I tried with Dave and I had that truly awful conversation with Dad in what I'm pretty sure was the actual afterlife, so -" Klaus trails off suddenly unsure.

"So?" Allison prompts.

"So I think it's possible," Klaus says.

"Okay then." Allison says, smiling.

"Okay," Vanya says. She looks briefly at Allison. "Do you need anything from us? We can get some candles or - or -" Her sentence trails uncertainly. Fair enough, she’d never helped directly with his training and by the time he was a teenager most of it had been bullshit he’d made up to appease Dad.

"No," Klaus says. “I don’t need any of that.” 

He takes a deep breath and shakes his hands out and let's his power flow through them. After almost seventeen years the imprint of Ben's spirit is as familiar to him as his own, and he holds that feeling - that tether- in his mind as he calls on his power. 

Klaus managed this last time without knowing that imprint - without ever having summoned someone before so surely this time -

His fists slowly glow blue as his power swells across the divide, searching.

It searches.

Klaus can hear Vanya and Allison breathing, can almost feel their eyes on him, but he closes his eyes tighter and tries to think only of his brother. 

The way he’d pinch into Klaus’ ticklish spots and make him laugh while they were performing and Klaus was supposed to be elegantly hovering midair. 

The steady sound of Ben’s voice reading to him under torchlight in their childhood, both curled up under a comforter. 

How Klaus could always tell when he disagreed with something because he twisted his mouth into a disapproving frown. 

His soft leather jacket over that stupid hoodie and fine black hair gelled into a classic slicked back hairstyle. 

The way Ben never has to worry about messing up his hair, there’s never a ghostly strand out of place. It’s an incredible benefit of being dead that Ben takes for granted. 

His power searches, reaching through thousands of souls on the other side.

He’s not going to let Ben take it for granted this time. He’s going to spend all his energy trying to mess up Ben’s hair. He’s going to give him so many noogies he’ll worry about ghost headaches.

His power reaches and reaches and _reaches_.

Suddenly there’s a loud _BANG_ as the door to Elliot’s bedroom slams into the wall.

“Cheese and crackers!” Klaus swears, and the blue glow around his fists fizzles out. He lifts one hand up to his chest, as if to help keep his thumping heart inside his ribcage. 

The tether hasn’t slipped into place but he still half-expects it to be Ben making a dramatic entrance back into the land of the living, the bastard. 

It’s not. 

It's Five.

Klaus’ heart sinks. It didn't take that long last time. All he had to do was think of his brother and then baby-faced Ben was standing behind him.

"Shit," he exhales, closing his eyes. 

“Come on, moron,” Five says. “We’re having a family meeting downstairs.” 

There's a pause, as Five suddenly seems to realise it's not just Klaus in here, looking in surprise at the three of them. “What are you all doing up here?” 

"Give him a moment, Five," Allison says. 

“I was trying to summon Ben again,” Klaus says, still clutching his chest. “Trying being the operative word.”

“It didn’t work then?” Vanya asks, disappointed.

“No.” Klaus shakes his head. “It - it didn’t take that long last time.” 

“Huh,” Five says, eyes widening with interest. “With your power there’s no reason why any ghost should become inaccessible to you, especially one familiar to you.” 

“That’s what I thought,” Klaus says. “But he isn’t coming.” 

“Hmm.” Five enters the room. “Maybe you can’t then.” 

“What do you mean?” Klaus says, slowly.

"I mean," Five says. "Ben's ghost shouldn't even exist yet, he isn't even born. Yet he time travelled."

"What are you saying?" Klaus says with growing horror.

Five gets that intense expression, like he always does when he's working through a complicated problem. "Well, maybe he isn't there for you to summon back."

"Wait," Klaus says, voice tense. "Like - like Ben doesn’t exist anymore?"

"Not necessarily,” Five says.

“Not necessarily,” Klaus echoes, and Vanya puts a hand on his arm. He can't imagine what expression he's making right now but he feels lightheaded and sick to his stomach, breathing in just a bit too quick.

“No, look. Don't take it the wrong way, it's just a hypothesis." Five moves forward, starting to pace the length of the bedroom. "But travelling through time relies on breaking the law of special relativity, which rules that particles can’t return from a high speed trip earlier than their departure." 

He pauses, looking around as if to make sure they're following. Klaus has no clue what he sees in their blank faces that makes him decide to continue.

"I can break that somewhat using my power, but it’s messy. Difficult. _Or_ we can use a briefcase,“ Five gestures with his hands, as if to point at a non-existent briefcase. “which has been proven to be _much more_ stable.” 

“Okay,” Klaus trails off. “And that means, what?”

“Nothing, but Ben doesn’t have that power and who knows how time runs on the other side.”

"Great," Klaus snorts.”Thanks a lot.” 

"I'm not saying anything for certain!" Five puts his hands up in the air, frustrated. “All I’m saying is that it’s more likely that he’s on the other side in our own time than here. That’s where he was born and, more importantly, where he _died_.”

Five pauses for a second, breathing out, three siblings staring at him completely flummoxed. “In the meantime, we have the entirety of the FBI and all the special forces in the country after us and we need a plan so the rest of us can stay alive.” 

Vanya gives him a small smile. “We’ll be down soon, Five."

Five mutters something and then teleports away, petulantly leaving the door wide open. Klaus doesn’t register what he says, the only thing that echoes round his head is the fact that - that Ben may not exist anymore. That Five couldn't say for sure that Ben still existed.

Klaus groans and moves his face into his hands, breathing out shakily. “I hate this. What - What if I can’t summon him back?” 

“Five - Five said that you might be able to back in 2019.” 

Klaus looks up at Vanya, almost bemused. It’s strange having an optimist around, but it's a bit useless when she never sounds like she believes what she’s saying herself. “We’re not in 2019, though. We don’t have any way to get back home.” 

“Klaus,” Allison starts, before hesitating. “You know you’ll be okay though, right? Whatever happens.” 

“What?” Klaus asks. His heart sinks - he knows where Allison is going with this and he doesn't want to hear it. Especially when she just unintentionally echoed the last words Ben ever said to him - the last words. Fuck. 

Allison reaches forward and touches his shoulder. “We’ve been where you are. It was amazing to see Ben yesterday, but the rest of us didn’t choose when to grieve. It was awful but it happened on schedule.” 

Klaus just shakes his head.

“If you can’t get Ben back, it will be awful and it’s okay if it takes you a while but - “ 

“He wants to come back though,” Klaus interrupts. “He told me he didn’t want to go.” 

“Maybe it’s just too soon, then?” Vanya says, tentatively. Bless her. 

Maybe.

“We’ll hold off Five, okay? Come down when you can,” Vanya says. 

The door clicks shut behind them and Klaus breathes in deep and shakes his hands out and tries again - his power swells and searches for that familiar beacon, searches through that distant light filled place and reaches and reaches and _reaches_ until Klaus knows there’s nowhere left.

There’s nothing. 

He curls up on the bed and just drifts. Was it really just yesterday that he and Ben left the cult? That he had his final conversation with Dave and realised that - realised that this younger Dave wasn't ever going to be the Dave he fell in love with, and cried on his brother's shoulder until his head ached? It feels like it’s been years since then. 

If Ben were here he'd know exactly what asshole comment to make to get a reaction from him and distract him from whatever was bothering him. 

If Ben were here and in a rare sensitive mood, he’d sit on the floor and talk steadily until Klaus felt well enough to leave the room.

If Ben were here he wouldn't need to be lying here.

And, look. Ben's an asshole who's too smart for his own good and never knows when to keep his opinions to himself. Allison and Vanya and even Diego some days beat him easily in Klaus' mental rankings of his siblings. But when it comes down to it, they know each other too well for things like that. Ben might not be his favorite sibling but he _is_ Klaus' best friend. He knows Klaus better than anyone and Klaus knows him right back and that can get frustrating as hell most days but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Fuck," Klaus says. He realises that the god-awful dresser on the other side of the room has blurred into two god-awful dressers, and reaches up with one hand to wipe at his eyes. He isn’t sure when he started crying.

This time yesterday morning Ben had looked at him and said _I'm right where I want to be_ and _I'd rather have the chance to see our family than risk being separated forever._ He’d said _That scares me._

What happens when a ghost dies? 

What happens when a ghost is torn apart by unimaginable power out of its time?

Klaus turns on his side, pushing away the grief that swells inside him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


When he finally opens the door, Vanya isn’t downstairs. She’s just putting the phone down and chewing on her nails. Klaus hasn’t seen Vanya do that since they were teenagers.

“What’s wrong?” Klaus asks. 

“Somethings wrong with Harlan,” Vanya says.

“Who?” Klaus asks.

“He drowned and I - somehow I brought him back to life and now it’s like we’re connected.”

Okay. There is a lot to unpack there but Vanya is breathing in far too quickly to be safe, leaning against the couch and then seeming to crumple down onto the floor, one hand up close to her mouth. 

Klaus puts his hand on her shoulders, breathing in deeply himself to encourage her to match his breathing until she seems to calm down. “We’ll go help Harlan, then, alright? Let’s go get the others.”

That's easier said than done though. The rest of their siblings have descended to fighting, Five and Diego spitting and snarling into each other's faces like rabid attack dogs and Allison sitting on the stairs and glaring at _Luther_ who seems to be unsuccessfully trying to appease her. 

Klaus claps his hands together loudly.

“Okay children!” Klaus yells. “We’re all going on a road trip.”

“What?” Five does a double take, seemingly baffled into silence. 

“We’re going to - “ Klaus trails off, looking at Vanya for support.

“Sissy’s farm.” 

“Sissy’s farm!” Klaus finishes.

“What?” Five says again.

“Yeah. We’re not going on a road trip,” Diego says, turning the ferocious glare he had been sending to Five a second ago their way.

“Well not a road trip per se,” Klaus starts, but he doesn’t get very far before Vanya interrupts him. Probably a good thing, because he wasn’t completely sure where he was going with that sentence. 

“Somethings wrong with Harlan and I need to help him. I need your help too,” Vanya says. “Please. I need my family.” 

There’s an awkward pause and Klaus can feel his heart sinking into his stomach, like it’s weighed down. 

“I’m sorry. We have other priorities right now,” Diego says, and Vanya already seems to be shrinking back, already seems to have accepted that her family won’t be helping her. 

“Diego’s right,” Five says. “For - “

“Wow,” Klaus interrupts. “You guys are monumental assholes.” 

“It’s not that simple!” Five says, hands up in the air. 

“Of course it is!” Klaus says, glaring at him. 

“Listen, numbnuts. We’re wanted by the FBI and who knows who else. We can’t just - “

“Vanya needs us right now! And after Ben - “

“Wait,” Diego stands up. “What happened to Ben?”

There’s silence. Klaus - Klaus doesn’t know how to say it. 

“You’re right. It’s simple, isn’t it?” Allison says, almost to herself. She stands up and moves forward between Diego and Five. Diego is still looking at Klaus for an explanation he’s not able to give and Five is looking awkwardly at the floor. “Of course we’ll help you, Vanya.”

It’s simple.

  
  


* * *

  
  


It’s not simple.

It turns out they're not just helping Harlan at Sissy’s farm. 

They’re fighting against an entire army of time travellers. 

Klaus still feels distracted and empty as he watches Commission soldiers pop into existence with familiar suitcases and fill up fields upon fields, fill up their entire view, and in the midst of it all is Diego’s ex-girlfriend. 

Diego’s ex-girlfriend who is like them. 

Diego’s ex-girlfriend who can steal their _powers_.

And more importantly, Diego’s ex-girlfriend who can steal _Vanya’s_ powers. 

The world explodes at the speed of sound and Klaus is flying through the air.

He doesn’t even think, he just screams “Catch me! Catch me! Catch me!”

And he’s caught. 

Klaus summons two long dead cowboys out of the peace of the afterlife. He pulls two unknown souls from that light filled place, and tethers them to his power so they can catch him out of the sky with ghostly blue arms. Klaus looks down at the ground and breathes in sharply - and not - not because he almost cracked his head open. The feeling is familiar, but also _wrong_ because he doesn't know these ghosts but they're connected to him just like his brother was this morning and - 

The ghosts put him down and the tethers are small and must not have much substance because after they put him down they almost immediately fade back to the light and - and - 

And Klaus falls to his knees, laughing into the ground in a strange mixture of relief and _hope_. He thinks it’s hope.

It feels the same.

As they disappear back to the light, the tiny tethers to these unknown ghosts seem to slowly disperse into particles of light until nothing of the tether to his power is left. 

It's the second time he's felt that today.

He brought them here from the light, and the feeling is the same as when Ben - when Ben. His forehead is touching the grass now, he's practically breathing in dew and dirt and fuck he hopes that whenever he catches up to his siblings they don't notice the tear tracks on his cheeks. He breathes in deep, thinking -

Maybe.

_Maybe._

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adapted Five's time travel explanation from [this website](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/according-to-current-phys/), I don't know anything about physics.
> 
> I'm on tumblr [@caedi](http://caedi.tumblr.com) if you want to come cry with me about Ben Hargreeves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are charging straight through episode 10 here and into the unknown. I've taken inspiration from the comics for some little details about the Sparrow Academy.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

  
  


  
  


Klaus sits in the living room of the quaint farmhouse, leaning against an ugly patterned couch. He fiddles with Dave’s dog tags, closing his eyes against the pleasant, cool breeze that flows from the huge hole in the wall opposite him.

Everything happened so fast, he has no idea how they're all still alive. The ex-girlfriend got distracted by Diego and then Five disarmed the stylish older woman who showed up out of nowhere with an automatic gun, and then a guy who looked an awful lot like the dead dude from Allison’s couch showed up and killed the stylish woman and -

Well.

“Do you get the feeling there’s a lot happening in this family that I’m not aware of?” Klaus says out loud out of habit. He opens his eyes and looks up at the ceiling.

It’s hard not being able to talk to Ben. Not being able to hear his commentary on a situation as it's happening, or raise his eyebrow at him when their siblings say something strange, or look over at the stupid expressions he’d make when someone says something particularly cliché (like 'Love shouldn’t have to hurt this much' what was that?)

Klaus hasn’t been alone like this for a long time. 

“I don’t know what I should do,” he whispers to the ceiling.

There's no response.

Five has given them an hour before they meet outside the farmhouse and return back home to 2019. 

It doesn’t seem real. 

Over the past three years, Klaus built a life here in the sixties. It's strange to think about giving it up and returning home. Sure, the cult was getting extremely clingy but he found unexpected stability with them and for the first time in his adult life he has plans for the future.

Or at least, he _had_ plans for the future.

He looks down at the dog tags, splitting them apart so the names _Klaus Hargreeves_ and _David Katz_ are overlapping. 

Last week he and Ben had left San Francisco and he'd set his plans in motion.

One time while on leave in Saigon, Dave and Klaus had stayed up all night talking in the cheapest room of a local Vietnamese hotel. Dave had whispered that he hadn't thought this was possible, that it felt like a dream. He'd told Klaus about enlisting. He’d told Klaus he’d signed up after Kennedy’s death because he was from a family of veterans and he was terrified of being gay and he’d thought by going to war he could prove something to himself and to them.

He’d told Klaus he regretted it.

Klaus had thought he could talk to the young version of Dave and convince him not to sign up. He'd remembered what Dave had confided to him back in 1968 and he'd thought - he'd thought he could do it. And deep in the back of his mind he'd dreamed of moving back to Dallas and maybe - maybe building a life together. The one they'd whispered about while curled up in coarse hotel sheets. Klaus could meet him outside the hardware store after work, take him on secret dates at the local restaurant, cook him dinner at the manor, and then in a few years - 

A house with two bedrooms and a picket fence and one of the bedrooms would be just for show, just in case of nosy neighbours, but they could fill it to the brim with books and knickknacks for Ben. 

Maybe they’d get a dog. Dave had loved dogs.

He closes his eyes and breathes out against the tags, slowly. 

And he’s glad he changed this Dave’s future, but he's still going to end up fighting in a war to prove something he doesn't have to. Klaus should have done more to convince him but he's not sure what else he could have done and - and 

Klaus hadn't realized that no matter what he did in the sixties, he couldn’t change what happened to the Dave he fell in love with.

Nothing can change the fact that he lost Dave that day. 

And now he’s going back home.

He’s going back to where he spent over thirteen years surviving on the streets from hit to hit. He’s going back home without Ben. 

Three years of building a life in the sixties, and he’s returning home with so much less than he arrived with.

Or maybe - maybe not. He kisses the dog tags one last time before letting them fall back to his chest and he shakes his hands out.

“Alright, Benny-boy. This is it,” he says to the empty room. “You said you wanted to come back, well here we go.” 

Klaus closes his eyes and tightens his hands into fists and lets power flow through them, lighting up blue. He feels his power swell across the divide, into that light filled place, searching for that familiar soul.

Soft leather jacket and stupid hoodie.

The steady sound of his brother’s voice as he came down from a bad trip.

God, Klaus wants to talk to him now. Klaus wants to tell him there aren’t just the seven of them - there are who knows how many people with powers out there. 

Klaus wants to let his power run through him so he can wrestle Ben onto the ground until they’re both laughing, until he can't feel this pit of emptiness yawning wide inside him anymore but - 

There’s nothing. 

Klaus looks up at the ceiling, hands falling to his side, blinking away tears. 

Is this how it’s going to be for the rest of his life? 

This hole in his life?

Klaus spent years thinking he was immune to losing people in this way, and within a day he’s lost the two most important people in his life.

He doesn’t know what to do.

A floorboard creaks and he looks up.

“Knock knock,” Allison says, smiling slightly. “I wasn’t sure where you were.” 

Klaus smiles at her, just a little bit, as she steps over the broken coffee table and shattered lamps to settle down next to him in front of the couch.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

"Are you?” Klaus returns, with an incredulous glance. It's strange to think he woke up just a few hours ago on Allison's couch and had to talk Ben out of borrowing all of Ray's books - it feels like that was years ago. He reaches for his dog tags again, rubbing them together.

Allison shakes her head as if she can tell what he's thinking, before looking out over the broken furniture in front of them, smiling sadly. “I wrote Ray a letter. Herb said he’d take it to his house and slip it in the book he gave me.” 

“I’m glad you get to say goodbye,” Klaus says softly. 

“Me, too. It’s hard but we don’t belong here,” Allison says. “And I really want to see Claire again. More than anything.” 

She looks back at Klaus, biting her lip. “Did you try again?”

Klaus closes his eyes and nods. “Nothing.” 

“Maybe Five is right. Maybe time works differently over there.”

He looks at her. “Maybe.” 

“Are you ready to go?” she asks. 

He’s tempted to say no - to try again and again because what if it _is_ just too soon and he leaves Ben alone in the afterlife from 1963 to 2019 when he knows - _he knows_ \- Ben wants to be with them. 

Klaus remembers how easy it was pulling Ben to him the first time in the courtyard pavilion, fresh from the grave and young and scared. Even during the fight it was as easy as breathing to summon those unknown souls to him and he knows Ben’s soul. Ben was tethered to his power for almost seventeen years.

Wherever Ben is right now, Klaus can’t touch him. 

The only thing to do now is to try back home. Maybe Five is right, maybe it doesn’t matter that Ben time travelled. Maybe he’s waiting impatiently on the other side in their own time.

“Yeah,” Klaus says, standing up and offering her a hand. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


They stand around in a circle, holding on tight to each other. 

Klaus stares at the briefcase a little warily, choosing the furthest point away from it. The last time he’d travelled by briefcase he’d smeared bright red blood over the gold covered latch as he flipped it open not caring where it took him as long as it was somewhere _away_ from where he’d lost Dave where he’d screamed futilely for a medic as bullets whipped around his head and -

“Okay,” Five says, and he clicks open the latch and the briefcase _whirrs_ as it charges and suddenly Klaus can feel a tug in the bottom of his stomach and he holds on tighter to his siblings and his entire body tingles and -

He closes his eyes tight and tries desperately to focus - there are no soldiers around him, no harried voices calling for them to get that man a gun goddammit they're under attack, no sobbing as he moves from a military tent to a public bus. He’s standing on a farm with five of his siblings in 1963 and they’re travelling home to 2019 - 

He breathes out and when he opens his eyes they’re in the foyer of the Academy and they - they did it.

It’s April 2 2019. 

“Did we - actually succeed at something? That’s incredible!” Klaus lets out a genuine laugh, pulling Vanya into a tight hug as the rest of their siblings start to do the same. He clings on tight to her, laughing into her hair for a second. It doesn't feel real. He almost wants to pick her up and spin her around until they both feel sick. 

He can’t believe they _did_ it. 

And then he spots it, over Vanya’s shoulder.

Ben.

Vanya has moved on to hug Allison but Klaus finds himself walking forward, staring at the painting over the mantelpiece.

It's Ben - or some fake idealised version of him. The painting is sitting exactly where the portrait of Five's teenage face used to smirk down at them from, but instead it's teenage Ben sitting in a plush armchair, completely expressionless. It doesn’t really look like him, but it's recognisable. It's better than the statue, at least. 

But it’s - it’s not meant to be here.

“Klaus?” Vanya asks, noticing that he's wandered off and distantly Klaus hears the rest of their siblings trail in behind him.

“Wait. Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?” Diego asks.

“I knew you’d show up eventually,” a familiar voice says.

And then the last person any of them ever wanted to see again stands up in the library sitting room. Reginald Hargreeves. Klaus - Klaus tries to follow the absolute mess of revelations that dear old Dad provides, but his eyes keep getting drawn back to the painting because - fuck. What have they done? 

Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?

“This is the Sparrow Academy!” Dad finishes dramatically - he always did like to finish his sentences off like that, with a tilt of his head and raise of his voice like what he was saying was super important. 

Klaus doesn’t have much time to consider what the hell the Sparrow Academy is before -

“Dad, who the hell are these assholes?” an even more familiar voice says.

Klaus spins around - heart in his throat - 

Ben is standing in front of them, living and breathing and dressed in a weird inverted version of their uniform. He looks at them suspiciously and he has an extremely sad fringe dripping over his forehead. 

It’s still - it’s still him though.

“Ben,” Klaus says, as the rest of his siblings say _Shit_ in unison.

There's a pause as this strange, living version of his brother turns to look right at Klaus, even more suspicious than he was before. Of course he noticed. Perceptive bastard.

“Have we met?” Ben asks. He's defensive in a way Klaus hasn’t seen him look for _years_ , arms folded and eyeing him distrustfully. 

Ben used to stand on guard like that during missions, faced with enemies or terrorists. Or during those uncomfortable interviews, faced with adults who called him "The Horror" before they called him Ben, he'd fold his arms and shut down until they were back home and safe again. And then years later, he'd stand vigil over Klaus as he slept in an alleyway, curled up next to the container bin behind their local 24 hour diner, carefully keeping an eye out for any sign of danger.

Klaus has never been on the receiving end of that look, though, and he finds himself shaking his head in response to the question.

Whoever this is, it isn’t the Ben he knows. 

It's then that Klaus notices the silhouetted figures on the mezzanine level and he has a moment to wish they’d managed to get their entrance as cool as that before -

“Well,” Dad says. “It seems we have some unwelcome guests from a different time. No matter. Number One, escort them to appropriate guest quarters. The East Wing will do.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


The strange living version of Ben leads them to the East Wing sitting room, as apparently none of the forty-two bedrooms are ready for guests. During their short walk Klaus is struck by the realization that his siblings - well - they aren't particularly subtle.

Luther tries to start a conversation with Ben about three times. Diego asks how he’s been and trips over nothing when Ben looks at him. By the time they reach the sitting room almost all of them have called him Ben despite not being introduced. Dad had only called him Number One (and isn’t that a thought). 

Eventually this world’s Ben rolls his eyes in a way that makes Klaus’ heart clench and he snarls, “I don’t know who you assholes think I am and I don't care. Stay here and don’t move until we know what to do with you all.” 

The others stare at him in shock at the tirade, but Klaus is just filled with an affectionate urge to mess up this Ben's hair. Ben always had a bit of temper.

He misses him so much.

And now they’re all sitting around and trying to figure out what the fuck they’ve done. Klaus hangs out by a glass cabinet which has some Sparrow Academy paraphernalia front and centre. A comic book that he doesn’t recognise, of course. A framed 'News of the Day' article - and wow Klaus remembers that mission. He’s pretty sure there were no survivors but the Sparrow Academy managed to save _six_ children. 

Huh.

“All right, how do we get back?” Diego finally breaks the silence, twirling one of his knives around.

“I don’t know,” Five says, shaking his head.

“Five - “ Vanya starts.

Five just shakes his head again and he starts muttering to himself quietly. He's pacing back and forth between the two ostentatious lounges that make up the sitting room.

“We screwed up.” 

“You must have some idea,” Luther says, valiantly trying to smile. He still mostly looks worried though. “You always have an idea, Five.”

“Yeah, you’ve got to give us something!” Diego pushes.

“I don’t know. It makes no sense.” 

Allison steps forward, blocking Five's path. “Explain.” 

Five glares at her before staring at the ground again. “It’s almost the first line of the Commission Handbook. The correct version of history _wants_ to be maintained. The Commission would never be able to do its job otherwise. It’s how things like the infinite switchboard work. It's why it was so hard to stop the apocalypse the first time around. Everything we did to try and change things still led to the same outcome.”

“That’s - that’s positive,” Vanya looks around at them. “Right?”

Five just laughs, but in a way that's completely unsettling and not funny at all. “Sure! Except for the fact that whatever we did in the past seems to have completely obliterated that fundamental fact and - and I have no clue why or how to undo it."

He lets those words settle in the air for a second before - 

"No matter where we go from now on we’ll always have travelled to the sixties and met Dad,” Five says, words tumbling together as he builds up to the climax of his sentence. “And Dad will always have decided not to adopt us because of it.”

Well, fuck. There’s shocked silence.

“What about Claire? What about - ” Allison says, and she quickly looks at where Klaus is leaning against the glass cabinet. “What about everyone we left behind?” 

Five shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“What about Ben?” Klaus asks bluntly, arms folded. He stares intently at Five. “You said he’d be on the other side here because it was his time, but this?"

Klaus pauses to gesture at the room at large as he moves forward. "Ben didn’t grow up here any more than the rest of us," he finishes. 

“I don’t know,” Five says. “But Ben time travelled with us so the law of special relativity would still have _tried_ to send him back to his original time, even if it doesn't exist anymore. Everything I said earlier should still stand but it’s all theoretical. Maybe.” 

Maybe.

That’s all Klaus had before so he can live with that.

Maybe.

  
  


* * *

  
  


None of them sleep well that night. Klaus curls up in an armchair by a large window that overlooks the busy street and tries not to think about everything they've lost. He counts stars until they disappear from the sky and the breakfast bell is ringing like they're thirteen again. Like they never left home.

The Sparrow Academy reluctantly gives them permission to leave their uncomfortable sitting room after they've sat through an incredibly awkward breakfast with seven strangers, one wearing their brother’s face.

And then they're left alone, sitting in silence at the breakfast table, and staring at the familiar anatomical cow posters. Klaus breathes in deep, looks at his siblings and says, “No time like the present, right? I’m going to try.” 

“Alright,” Allison says, putting a hand on his arm. “The courtyard pavilion, right?” 

“Yeah - uh - “ Klaus looks up and all of his siblings have stood up as well. “What are you guys doing?”

“We’re coming with you, of course,” Vanya smiles, and the rest of them nod along with her like it was a given.

“Oh," Klaus says, and he can't stop the smiling as he looks at them clustered around him, so he exaggerates it completely and puts one hand up to his heart. "Aww, you guys."

They walk into the courtyard, and the Sparrows - including this world’s Ben - are sparring near where Ben’s statue is in their universe. God, Klaus can't wait till his brother is with him so they can make fun of his alter ego's hair together. Is this what Ben would have been reduced to if he hadn’t played with Klaus and Allison sometimes as a kid? Hours spent on Saturday afternoons messing around in front of the bathroom mirror, styling each other's hair.

“What are you up to?” A girl asks, with obvious distaste in her tone. Almost as distasteful as her scraggly shoulder length bob.

“None of your beeswax,” Five snarls.

Klaus puts an arm out in a futile attempt to placate Five, who seems to be itching for a fight. He looks at the girl. “We’re - we’re summoning our brother back.” 

“What do you mean?” The cube says and somehow manages to eye their Ben.

Ben just stands in front of his siblings, arms crossed defensively, and glares at the Umbrella Academy from under his fringe.

Yeah, they definitely weren’t subtle.

“It’s my power,” Klaus says, reluctantly. He doesn't owe them any explanation, but they're here. In a few seconds they'll all be seeing Ben.

“Just don’t bother us. Okay?” Diego says, glaring. The effect is ruined though, because as soon as he looks at this world's Ben his glare melts into nothing.

“As long as you don’t bother us,” Ben says, rolling his eyes before he turns his back to them and refocuses on his siblings. He drops into a defensive stance, and that's all the sign the Sparrow Academy needs to start seamlessly sparring again.

“Come on, guys,” Klaus says, continuing across the grass towards the structure in the middle of the courtyard.

“Why are we doing it out here?” Diego whispers as they enter the pavilion, turning around to look back at the Sparrow Academy. “ _They’re_ here.” 

Klaus just smiles. “This is where I summoned him the first time.”

“Do you need us to do anything?” Luther asks, hands in his pockets. 

Klaus shakes his head. “No.” He breathes out deeply, and for a moment just looks at his siblings surrounding him. “Just - thanks. For being here.” 

“Of course,” Allison smiles.

Klaus shakes his hands out a few times and then closes his eyes. He tightens his hands into fists and lets his power flow through them, lighting up blue. He feels his power swell across the divide, into that light filled place, searching for that familiar soul - 

Soft leather jacket and stupid hoodie. 

Steady voice - 

Klaus smiles, relief coursing through him. 

It's as easy as breathing.

He barely has to think of his brother before he finds him. 

With barely any effort at all he pulls Ben across the divide and out of that light filled place.

He can feel him.

He can feel the familiar tether slipping back into place like it never left - before - before it -

It falters.

The tether to his brother falters like there's a magnet pulling him in a different direction and -

“Fuck,” Klaus says, heart skipping a beat.

He tries to concentrate on his power, he uses everything he's learnt over the past three years.

He reaches with his power and tries desperately to hold on but -

He can’t - he can't follow.

He can't follow.

The tether slips from his grasp and disappears like smoke and Ben's gone. 

He - he was right there and he's gone.

His power drops from his hands. 

Klaus opens his eyes and he's on his knees trying to breathe and trying to - what - what just happened? 

Somehow, Klaus knows he won’t find Ben again. He’s gone and it’s Klaus’ fault. 

What did he do wrong?

What did he just do to his brother?

What happens when a ghost is _gone_?

Allison and Vanya are suddenly on either side of him.

"It's okay," one of them says. "Klaus we're here."

"I - I could feel him but -" 

He's interrupted by a shout from where the Sparrows are training, and just tries to focus on his breathing.

"Shit," Diego says, looking over his shoulder in their direction. "I think one of them just collapsed." 

"What?" Klaus breathes out.

“Who cares,” Five snarls, standing over Klaus and Vanya and Allison like he’s on guard duty. “They want to be left alone.”

And Klaus -

Klaus stops.

Somewhere he can’t follow. 

Somewhere inaccessible to his powers.

He scrambles to his feet, pushing his siblings away as they reach for him, and runs out of the pavilion across the grass to where the Sparrow Academy is circling one of their siblings who they’ve just helped up off the ground and -

It’s Ben.

"- know who you are,” Ben is in the midst of saying, looking at the Sparrow Academy warily. 

"I don't believe - "

"Everything okay over here?" Klaus interrupts, and he feels hope bloom in his chest - 

“Thank God,” Ben says, and under the tragic fringe he makes a familiar expression. "Klaus, who the hell are these assholes?"

"No," says an unidentified Sparrow. 

“Oh my God,” Klaus says and he moves through the circle of Sparrow Academy members and pulls Ben into a hug, and he laughs out against Ben’s hair and he feels Ben breathe against him and - he can't believe it.

"Oh my God," Klaus repeats, stunned, and when he talks he can feel Ben's hair move against his face. 

The rest of their siblings catch up to them and - 

"Oof," Klaus loses all his breath as they jump in on the hug. Luther is pressed against his back and laughing over their heads and Vanya has jumped in between him and Ben giggling and Allison beams at Klaus from over Vanya's head and Diego is on Ben's other side with tears in his eyes and Five has teleported within reach of them all and is smiling in amazement as their words tumble over each other - “Oh my God!” “Ben?” “Is it really you?” “How did this happen?” "Look at you!"

Klaus can't stop laughing, surrounded by his siblings and choking on some of Ben's hair, and Ben is here - he's alive - and it's overwhelming.

He holds on tighter. It doesn't seem real.

Suddenly a _BOOM_ reverberates through the courtyard, echoing off the walls and Klaus ducks instinctively covering his and Ben’s heads with his arms, heart suddenly thumping out of his chest. He can feel Luther covering them all from above and the sound echoes around them for a few seconds, until it settles.

Klaus laughs out in shock, looking down at Ben and Vanya underneath him, before looking past Luther's arms. There doesn't seem to be any damage.

What the hell was that?

The Sparrow Academy is staring at them in open horror. Klaus had honestly forgotten they weren't alone. Was that sound one of them? 

"What did you do to him?” One of them asks, thick blond eyebrows furrowed in anger. A girls puts her hand on his arm as if to calm him down.

"I didn't do it on _purpose_ ,” Klaus laughs because the idea is completely preposterous and he tightens his arms around Ben just a little. “I was just summoning his ghost back and - and -"

"What did I say? The original timeline _wants_ to be maintained,” Five chimes in, sounding far too smug.

The remaining members of the Sparrow Academy share a worried glance before one of them steps forward. She’s short, only a bit taller than Vanya, with brown skin and dark hair pulled into a severe high pony-tail. 

"You really don't remember us? You don't remember being part of the Sparrow Academy?" She asks Ben, a slight frown on her face. In the background, the others seem to hover nervously.

Ben untangles himself from his siblings and moves forward just a little bit. “No,” he says, softly, like he's trying to break it to her easy. “No, I'm sorry. I don’t remember the Sparrow Academy.”

There’s something off about this whole situation and Klaus wants to draw Ben back to them but the girl looks so worried and her siblings are tense behind her and he knows how he’d feel if one of his siblings had suddenly just transformed into a completely different person.

Then, despite her stature the girl manages to stand almost tall and she smiles and Klaus suddenly realizes she wasn't worried at all she was _concentrating_ \- fuck - 

"I don't believe you,” she says, confidently.

Klaus reaches for Ben and Ben - 

Ben _staggers_ , suddenly going pale as he falls back. Klaus and Diego barely catch him.

"Oh God, her powers are like mine," Allison says horrified, grabbing onto one of Ben’s arms as well to hold him up and trying to get him to look at her. 

Ben just breathes in quickly. He's staring off into the distance, unresponsive.

Klaus turns around fiercely. The fragile hope that had started to bloom in his chest is _shattering_ and he clenches his fists and they light up bright blue and -

Suddenly the entire courtyard is filled with glowing figures. Ghosts of soldiers who died brutally on the frontlines, ghosts of children torn apart in car crashes, ghosts of men and women who have been murdered with blood dripping and intestines dragging along the ground. Ghosts suddenly brought into the courtyard from the afterlife and tethered to his power and given _form_.

"What did you do?" Klaus says, enraged, and the army of ghosts move forward with him, screaming. “Undo it!”

The girl draws back slightly at the sight of the ghosts surrounding them, before shaking her head and somehow standing even straighter, glaring back at Klaus. "No. He's our brother. _You_ lost him, not us."

"Carla, it's okay," Ben says, weakly.

"Ben?" Klaus asks, spinning around to look at his brother. Pure terror immediately overshadows his fury and as quickly as they appeared the ghosts dissipate into nothing, blue lights flickering out in between breaths and tethers suddenly snuffed out like candles.

Ben smiles at him. He still - he still seems like Ben. He hasn't reverted back to that closed off way that the other Ben was looking at Klaus before. 

"I'm okay," Ben says faintly. He's still pale, and he reaches for Klaus to try and steady himself. "I - I think I'm gonna throw up," he mumbles as he clutches onto Klaus’ vest.

"Well don't aim at me," Klaus teases but he doesn’t think he’s ever been this scared. He clutches at Ben’s arm as his brother snorts in laughter and wobbles slightly and God, he _touches_ his brother on the arm without having to put forward any of his own power but there's barely enough time to consider that miracle before -

Ben doesn't throw up.

Ben collapses unconscious onto the ground.

"Shit," Klaus says, half following him down as he suddenly has Ben’s dead weight in his arms. He instinctively moves Ben into the recovery position and pushes his stupid fringe off his sweaty, pale face. "Shit."

"Ben!" The cube calls out, hovering in the sky above Klaus. It somehow manages to sound terrified, despite the computerized tone. The dark haired girl - was it Clara? - runs forward to sit by Ben's feet, and the remaining Sparrow Academy members cluster behind her anxiously. 

"Oh God," Allison says, on her knees next to Ben. Her hands hover over his body, like she’s terrified to even start checking if he’s alright.

Klaus knows the feeling, panic-stricken heart thumping out of his ribcage. He’s breathing in too quick, not quite getting enough air. 

"Shit. We need Mom," Klaus says. He moves his shaking hands up to Ben’s neck to check his pulse.

"What?" says an as-yet unidentified Sparrow. 

Diego turns on the Sparrow Academy members, with his fists raised and ready. "You heard him! Come on assholes, stop standing around and go get Mom!"

There's silence. 

Klaus looks up from where he's taking Ben's erratic pulse (his pulse fuck _he has a pulse_ ) to stare at the strange group surrounding them, who in turn are staring at Ben’s collapsed form and all the members of the Umbrella Academy in complete confusion.

"Who?"

Shit.

  
  


* * *

  
  


All twelve of them sit in the waiting room outside the infirmary. It’s so silent that Klaus thinks he’d be able to hear a needle drop in the infirmary, which is hidden behind a hallway and two sets of large double doors. 

Mom doesn't exist.

The Guardian Robot for Automated Care and Empathy exists though. The Sparrow Academy calls her G.R.A.C.E. 

She's a poor imitation of Mom. Where Mom was kind and soft, G.R.A.C.E is stilted and, well, robotic. 

G.R.A.C.E has blonde hair curled into a short bob around her face and that’s where her resemblance to a human ends. Her face is square and polished like white stone, with glassy blue eyes that don’t blink. Her mouth is always curved into a smile and it lights up when she talks. She doesn’t have legs, instead her chest is connected to some kind of wheeled contraption that whizzes her around. 

And her chest is made of glass so you can see the complicated mess of wires and processors that keep her running. 

Klaus remembers when they brought Ben back after - after - 

Mom had met them in the infirmary and her hands had curled down around Ben's cold blood stricken cheeks and she’d whispered, "Oh no, my sweet boy." 

In truth, they’d known it was too late but with the naivety of children they’d been clinging onto the hope that if they got Ben to Mom maybe she could _fix_ it. 

Reginald Hargreeves had found them in the infirmary, crying over the body of their brother, and had sent them to their rooms alone to think over the enormity of their failure on this crucial mission. 

But Mom - Mom had looked at her children and had gathered them into her arms as they sobbed and said it was okay, she’d stay with Ben for them. And she’d done her best to keep that promise. She’d stayed by his side, holding his hand, until she finally ran out of battery. 

When she’d awoken hours later, recharged, Ben’s body had been locked in an iron coffin with eldritch tentacles crawling all over the top. None of them had gotten to see him again, none of them had been able to say goodbye, and none of them had wanted to think too hard about how quickly Dad had procured a coffin that reflected Ben’s horrific powers. And Mom had stood in the circle at the funeral and she’d _glared_. 

Despite her programming, she had a thousand little ways of showing you she cared. 

G.R.A.C.E, upon seeing Ben in the infirmary, had stated, "Initialising first aid response. All non-essentials please leave the room. Initialising first aid response. All non-essentials please leave the room. Initialising - "

Klaus looks over at Diego, who's sitting next to him on the floor. He's leaning against the wall, tense, and staring at the ceiling with such intensity it looks like he's trying to use his powers to move it with the force of his gaze. Like he wants it to come tumbling down and knock him out so he can wake up from this nightmare.

He looks lost. 

Klaus doesn't have a clue what to say to him but he could use some comfort himself. Their Mom doesn't exist anymore - she's just gone. Whatever they did in the week leading up to the 1963 apocalypse also convinced Dad not to create Mom - at least not in the same way.

Klaus touches Diego's shoulder, just slightly.

And he's immediately shrugged off. Diego doesn’t look at Klaus, just continues to glare at the ceiling.

Well, fuck him too then.

So they sit in silence. 

The Sparrow Academy is lined up on the wall opposite them, on chairs that have actually been left out for visitors. Every single one of them sits with perfect posture, except for the cube which hovers above their heads. Every single one of them is glaring at Klaus. 

It's fine. Klaus gets it. He's sent a few glares of his own to the dark haired girl because Ben was fine (he was _fine_ ) before she'd decided to use her powers and maybe Klaus had done it too but his was an accident. She'd meant to screw with Ben's mind when she said those words to him and who knows what the consequences will be. 

Klaus closes his eyes to avoid their identical gazes and breathes out slowly. 

He's counted to seven hundred and forty-three when the door slides open, and G.R.A.C.E rolls out. 

The Umbrella Academy scrambles up off the floor and they stare at her expectantly. One of the lights inside her chest flickers multiple times and a processor starts to whirr until finally -

"First aid complete," she says. "Two non-essential visitors permitted for a period of: five minutes."

By unspoken agreement, Klaus and the dark-haired girl - Cara? - move forward towards the double doors that lead to the infirmary. 

Allison gives him a tentative smile, clutching his hand briefly as he walks by her, and then they're walking down the dimly lit second hallway lined with neatly organised medical equipment and to the second set of double doors that lead to - lead to Ben.

As they approach the door, the Sparrow gives him an appraising look with one elegant eyebrow raised. "You're their Number Two, then?" 

"What?" Klaus asks, almost doing a double take. What do their numbers have to do with this?

But he's distracted from making any further comment when they walk through the door and then - it’s Ben. 

Ben is there.

Ben is sitting up on the bed in a plain white medical gown, patiently letting Pogo remove sticky sensors from his stomach. 

The door swings shut behind them, and Ben looks up and meets his eyes and gives him that stupid sardonic smile. The corner of his mouth ticks up the slightest bit and Ben hasn't looked at Klaus like that for nearly 24 hours and he _missed_ it, the asshole. 

"You little shit-heel," Klaus says, laughing before he draws Ben into a tight hug. Ben's hands lay flat against the bed for a second - just a second - before his arms twitch and he reaches up and returns the hug, tighter than ever. 

Klaus leans down so his head is burrowed into Ben’s neck and Ben is - he’s _warm_ and alive and he smells like grass and dirt and sweat and it’s disgusting but Klaus has never - never been so happy. He swears he can feel Ben’s pulse thumping against his cheek.

"Asshole."

"I'm okay," Ben says into Klaus' shoulder. “I’m okay.”

“I mean, you’re better than okay. You’re alive,” Klaus laughs and tightens his arms around him. 

“Yeah,” Ben mumbles, laughing a bit as well and this is insane. Klaus had forgotten that Ben had laughed like that when he was alive, more of a snort from his nose like he’d been trying to contain it and it just emerged from the wrong place. 

Klaus is filled with affection for his brother and so he messes up his stupid fringe in retaliation. Ben groans and tries wriggle away but Klaus leans forward and perseveres until it’s looking artfully styled instead of an emo tragedy. 

"Ben?" The girl asks. She's standing a bit further away from the bed, hands behind her back, completely still. A hint of worry flashes through her eyes as she looks at them. 

When Ben looks at the girl his entire stance changes. He sits up a little bit straighter against the pillows on the bed and he gives her a strange smile - Klaus would call it patronising but he doesn’t think the girl agrees with him. She almost looks relieved. 

"Carla, that was some quick thinking out there," Ben says and right. Her name is Carla. Klaus will definitely forget that again in the next few minutes. 

Carla flushes a little bit at the praise, nodding her head all business-like and her posture improving even more somehow. Klaus had no idea it was possible to stand up that straight. Maybe it’s a secondary superpower? 

Her eyes dart, suspicious, to where Klaus’ hand is still touching Ben’s shoulder. "It worked - you're - you're back then?" 

Ben smiles and this time it’s genuine. It reaches his eyes and he breathes in deep like - like it’s unfamiliar - like it’s a miracle. He looks up at Klaus. “I remember everything."

"Everything?" Klaus asks.

“Yeah,” Ben nods. "Well, what I was there for at least. I remember talking to Vanya while possessing her at the FBI building, before I couldn’t hold on any longer.” 

Klaus hums in agreement, not quite trusting himself to speak out loud about - about that.

“So I don’t know what you idiots did after that,” Ben says.

“Oh, nothing,” Klaus says unconvincingly, waving a hand back and forth in the air before he tries awkwardly to settle himself against the bed a bit better. “We came right here.” 

Ben just rolls his eyes, kicking at Klaus. Then he smiles at Carla. “And I remember everything from the Sparrow Academy, too.” 

"Oh," Carla says. “That’s - that’s good then.” 

“Yeah,” Ben says, but he moves back to Klaus, punching him in the shoulder. “I can’t believe you guys changed _everything_.” 

“You were there too!” 

“Yeah, mostly just as an observer,” Ben says, glaring a little bit. His mouth is twisted into a smile though, so Klaus knows he doesn’t really mean it. “You’re going to have to tell me what I missed at some point.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Klaus lies. “You were there for all the important parts.” 

“I’ll get it out of you.” 

Klaus squeezes his shoulder. "You're okay, though?"

Ben nods, "It - it was a lot to take in all at once. It was overwhelming, suddenly I could feel things again and had to breathe and then - then all the memories."

"Yeah," Klaus says. Ben had told him just the other day how overwhelming that split second of possession was. And then not only did he unexpectedly come back to life, but he had to process a whole other lifes worth of memories. Klaus can't imagine how that felt.

"I just have a headache now. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, that's definitely an improvement," Klaus smiles, shaking his head and laughing a bit. He'll be fine. It doesn't seem real. Shit, considering what Ben just went through they're probably lucky it's just a headache and a brief period of unconsciousness.

"You know, I think I even missed headaches?" Ben says and Klaus cackles in delight.

"Oh, are you a masochist now Benji?"

Ben groans in horror, before leaning forward and pushing Klaus hard enough that he falls off from his perch on the bed. "Gross, stop. How does your brain even work?"

God, it's so easy to rile him up.

Klaus is still laughing when the door swings open and G.R.A.C.E rolls in. "All non-essentials, visiting time is over." 

Carla slips forward, touching Ben's hand briefly and smiling. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she says, before she walks out the door. 

Klaus doesn’t want to leave. 

“All non-essentials, visiting time is over,” G.R.A.C.E starts repeating, stuck in a loop. 

Yeah. Klaus doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. 

“Shit,” Klaus says, and he pulls his brother in for one last tight hug. “I'll see you soon, yeah?" He mumbles and waits until he feels Ben nod against his shoulder before he turns around and skirts awkwardly past the robot who repeats the same phrase over and over and - 

He breathes out, walking through the dimly lit medical hallway again.

Ben will be fine.

The last time Ben had been in the infirmary Klaus had stared at Mom with tears in his eyes and wanted so badly to hear her say those words, even though he knew it was too late. 

But Ben will be fine.

He walks back into the waiting room and his face must give it all away because the second he walks out he’s surrounded on all sides by his family hugging him and crying and for once - for once - it’s about something good. 

They’ve actually succeeded at something. They've done something _good_.

  
  


* * *

  
  


In the end, Ben is kept in the infirmary for observation and they take turns visiting him and talking to him until, more than a day later, Klaus and Carla show up for their visit and Pogo tells them he's been discharged.

Carla walks off without giving Klaus a second glance and that suits Klaus just fine. No one knows where Ben's disappeared to, but Klaus knows what he has to do.

Ben used to do this as a kid. When things were overwhelming he'd disappear into his own mind and find a place to be alone and he'd spiral until Klaus found him and distracted him with a stupid story or by pinching him in the side until they were wrestling on the ground and laughing.

He'd do it as a ghost too but it was hard for Klaus to distract Ben from his death when Klaus had so much lingering guilt over his situation and he couldn't touch his brother and flick his forehead or wrestle him into the ground until they were both laughing. As a ghost, Ben could also just disappear whenever he got upset. It was pretty frustrating. 

Ben can't disappear like that anymore, so he'll be in the academy somewhere quiet, overthinking.

It doesn't take long to find him. Klaus climbs up the ladder to the roof and Ben is sitting by the observatory, looking up at the stars. 

He's wearing a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans with familiar ugly black combat boots. His hands are resting in his lap, and Klaus can see the dark circle of his sparrow tattoo on his left wrist.

As Klaus gets closer he realizes Ben's even styled his hair a bit so the fringe isn't noticeable, it's just messy and sticking up all over the place like a singer from one of those dumb 90s boy band CDs he used to secretly collect.

He looks different. He looks good.

Ben doesn't say anything when Klaus sits next to him. He just settles back on the floor, staring up. He doesn't look as stressed as Klaus was expecting, so they just sit in silence for a while. It's the comfortable sort of silence that comes from spending almost seventeen years in each other's company.

"I think I'm going to miss being a ghost. I mean, not much, but parts of it," Ben finally says. 

"And I'm going to miss having a ghost bitch," Klaus sighs in pretend sadness, and Ben shoves his shoulder laughing.

They sit for a moment before Klaus admits, "It's going to be different. You're different." 

"Yeah."

"We still have to find a way to get back to our timeline." 

"I know," Ben says.

"Are you - are you going to help us?"

"Klaus. You dumbass," Ben says, giving Klaus an incredulous stare. "You're my siblings. Of course I'm going to help you."

Ben breathes out slowly, turning his face to the stars again before continuing cautiously. "Dad was - Dad was worse here somehow. The Sparrows won't understand but it's the right thing to do."

Klaus just stares.

"What?" Ben finally asks, meeting his gaze.

Klaus smiles. "I'm glad you're back."

Ben returns it. "Me too."

And just as they've settled back into that comfortable silence, staring upwards at the night sky, there's a piercing sound and the mission alarm blares out through the academy, red lights flashing.

"Christ!" Klaus swears, just about jumping out of his skin. "Was that thing always that loud?"

Ben drops his head into his hands, exhausted, and lets out a long, disgruntled moan.

Klaus cackles. "Off you go, Number One. Duty calls!"

"Yeah, fuck you too." Ben gives him the finger. "I've got to convince the others to move out, we're in our 30's this is ridiculous."

"Technically they're all 29," Klaus muses, before gasping. "And now you have memories of two lifetimes. Wait, are you older than Five now?"

"No."

"You are!" Klaus says, reaching over to put him in a grapple hold and mess up his hair again.

"Get off!" He says, finally wriggling out of Klaus' reach but not before Klaus gets him to make that stupid snort-laugh again. "I've got to go."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, big shot." Klaus says, wiping his hands on his pants before offering Ben a hand up. Its still novel to be able to do this without expending any of his own power. They can just touch. He can give Ben a noogie anytime he feels like with minimum effort. 

Klaus follows him off the roof and down to where the bedrooms are, and Ben gives him a strange look as he follows him into his room. It's strange to see Luther's bedroom half-turned into a library, books piled high and the boring blue comforter Ben's had since they were children on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Ben asks. 

"We're coming with you, of course," Klaus scoffs. "Not about to leave your safety to these amateurs." 

Behind him, Allison and Vanya stumble down the stairs with Luther and Diego not far behind. Five zaps into Ben's room and peers at his bookcase. 

"There you guys are! We heard the alarm and couldn't find you!" Allison scolds, hands on hips.

“You guys,” Ben says. He pauses for a moment, staring at his gaggle of siblings leaning against his door frame. He smiles at them fondly, the corners of his mouth ticking up slightly. "You don’t have to do this."

"No, we don't have to," Vanya agrees. "We want to."

"This is the best way to investigate the timeline and to figure out what happened to the Commission," Five grumbles, still peering at the books with far too much intensity. "We'll get more intel with you."

In the background the mission alarm continues to blare, red light flashing on and off and on and off again. They can hear the muttering of Sparrow Academy members as they get ready, the cube's mechanical chattering, the whirr of the televator starting to power up and the click of Reginald Hargreeves' shoes on the hardwood floors

Klaus snickers. "Sorry Benerino. It looks like you're stuck with us."

Ben smiles back at him, warm and alive. "Alright then. Let's go."

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all, folks!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a comment, kudos or even just clicked on this story to give it a try. This fic was extraordinarily self-indulgent and I had an absolute ball sharing it with you all. 
> 
> I'm also half-thinking about turning this into a series if people are interested? I'd want to know a bit more about season three first but I have ideas and even left a few little plot hooks in this chapter.
> 
> As always, come cry with me about the Hargreeves on my tumblr [@caedi](http://caedi.tumblr.com). And if you want more fix-it fics, please check out my next story [Darkness into Sparks](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26423254) <3


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